"Here's to strong women, may we know them, may we be them, may we raise them" - Women's Day 2022

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“She is imperfect but she tries
She is messy but she is kind
She is good but sometimes she lies
She is hard on herself but won’t ask for help
She is alone in her thoughts and
Mixed in a beautiful recipe of life”

It was a three day gala celebration for the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT KGP) on the International Women’s Day under the aegis of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav from 6th to 8th March 2022. This year the theme was #breakthebias to show solidarity with gender parity, a world free of gender bias, stereotypes and discrimination, a world which is diverse, equitable and inclusive of both men and women setting the standards for being individuals where differences are valued and celebrated together as a team.

IIT Kharagpur flagged off the celebration on 6th March 2022 with the opening ceremony involving fun and games for everyone and indulged in activities like Sack Race, Musical Chair, Tic Tac Toe, Blind Fold etc. All the participants did a photoshoot and posed together to form this year’s theme #breakthebias.

A panel discussion was held on 7th March 2022 on “Women’s Adolescent Health”. Dr. Chaitali Dutta Ray, an eminent gynaecologist, Professor & Head, Dept. of Gynaecology & Obstetrics, Raigunj Government Medical College & Hospital, was the Chief Guest for the occasion. The discussion was moderated by Dr. Parmeshwar Satpathy, Assistant Professor, Dr. B. C. Roy Multispecialty Medical Research Centre, IIT Kharagpur and Dr. Tanisha Das, a Ph.D student of IIT Kharagpur. The other panel members, Professor Manas K Mandal, an eminent Neuropsychologist and Distinguished Visiting Professor at IIT Kharagpur and Dr. Sumana Samanta, Assistant Professor, Dr. B. C. Roy Multispecialty Medical Research Centre, IIT Kharagpur discussed about stress, depression, public health, problem of adolescent anaemia and the long term hazards of this common health problem for women. Ms. Devaki Nandana Varalakshmi Vardhineedi, Vice President of Technology Students Gymkhana (TSG) spoke about her experiences as the First Lady Vice President of TSG IIT KGP.

The Department of Geology & Geophysics of IIT Kharagpur have also felicitated their Women Professor Colleagues, Prof Sanghamitra Ray, Prof Chandrani Singh and Prof Sudha Agrahari. In-depth discussions and motivational speech by the participants towards the empowerment of women in Earth Sciences was also conducted on the occasion of International Women’s Day 2022 as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

The closing ceremony commenced on 8^th March 2022 with on-the-spot competition that included Rangoli, Alpana and Face Painting for all the campus residents, spreading the message #breakthebias. Later in the evening, the event began with lighting up the lamp followed by addresses from Prof V K Tewari, Director, Prof Amit Patra, Deputy Director and Registrar Shri Tamal Nath of IIT Kharagpur on breaking the gender bias. Prof V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur remarked that, “When you educate a man, you educate only a man but when you educate a women, you educate an entire generation, a society at large”. Ms. Bhanu Kumar, Director (Commercial) of MSTC, India was the Chief Guest of the occasion and addressed the gathering by sharing her experiences of gender inequality and thoughts on women empowerment. The last day of the event concluded with a cultural program by faculties, campus women, children and students comprising of a series of cultural events including songs, dance and drama. The winners of the various activities and events were recognised with a token of appreciation.

An organizing committee was setup comprising of Prof Koel Chowdhury, Chairperson, Prof. Rintu Banerjee, Treasurer, Prof Debjani Chakroborty, Treasurer, Ms Devaki Nandana, Co-Chairperson, Sunita Mishra, Mining Engineering, Prof Gayatri Mukherjee, School of Medical Science & Technology, Prof Debashree Guha Adhya, School of Medical Science & Technology and Ms Priyanka Singh, Sports Officer to undertake the activities of Women’s Day Celebration 2022 in our Institution.