C20 Working Group Summit on Gender Equality & Disability launched in Odisha

By: WE Staff | Monday, 24 April 2023

The Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) is the venue for the Gender Equality and Disability Summit of Civil 20 (C20), one of the official Engagement Groups of the G20, which was launched in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

The dignitaries showed their presence throughout the opening ceremony involved Dr. Achyuta Samanta, Founder, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT); Swami Amritaswarupananda Puri, Troika and Steering Committee Member C20 and Vice Chairman, Mata Amritanandamayi Math; Vijay Nambiar, C20 Sherpa; Phoolranee Rampadarath from Ministry of Gender Equality & Family Welfare, Mauritius; and C20 International Advisory Committee Members Ramu Damodaran and Naila Chowdhry The Hon'ble Minister for Gender Equality & Family Welfare of the Republic of Mauritius, Kalpana Devi Koonjoo-Shah, spoke to the audience remotely.

More than 300 delegates from India and other countries will take part in talks and workshops over the course of the two-day summit, which will directly influence the policy proposals that will be unveiled at the C20 Summit in July 2023.

The founder of the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), Dr. Achyuta Samanta, spoke to the delegates and said: "Gender equality and disability rights are important concerns, and we need to work together to address them. It is more straightforward to say than to accomplish, but to achieve true gender equality, we must guarantee that all women and girls have access to the same opportunities and rights as boys and men. Our civilizations are firmly rooted in gender inequality.”

“We require a comprehensive strategy that tackles issues affecting marginalized and disadvantaged communities, such as employment, healthcare, and education. This entails altering gender roles, elevating women in leadership positions, and including men and boys to achieve gender equality. Let's all continue to collaborate to change things. We can create a better world by working together, which has tremendous power.”

True freedom, pleasure, peace, and cohabitation would remain a distant dream without recognizing and welcoming women as equals, according to Swami Amritaswarupananda Puri, Troika and Steering Committee Member, C20, and Vice Chairman, Mata Amritanandamayi Math. There is still plenty that needs to change, although the world has gotten somewhat more pro-women. Women must be urgently freed from society's and men's intellectual and psychological shackles in many nations and civilizations. Men need to show compassion and free women from the chains of the past. To overcome this psychological conditioning that society has imposed on them, women must also raise their consciousness.

“Men and women are similar to two bird wings”, he said. “Our attempts to bring about balance in society will be fruitless unless they function harmoniously as a single entity. I don't, however, support feminism in the Western sense. Women do not have to mimic and speak like males do to assert their legitimate demands. Inherently, women are stronger than males. They ought to make use of their potential without sacrificing their femininity or distinctiveness. A fantastic example of where women have achieved significant advancements towards gender equality without sacrificing their uniqueness or culture is Rwanda.”

“The world is moving towards more gender equality, thus the problem of handicaps needs to be taken seriously as well. We won't have an inclusive society unless full and barrier-free access is acknowledged as an enforceable right. We support complete and barrier-free accessibility and disability inclusion as a separate and focused Working Group of C20, and we are about to put that support into action.”

Many countries still perceive women as inferior, C20 Chair Mata Amritanandamayi Devi (Amma) remarked in a video address during the opening ceremony. Even though the world has advanced significantly over the past many decades, there is still a lot of resistance and mental resistance to accepting women's equality. One in four teenage females throughout the world is excluded from school and jobs. Only one in ten guys falls victim to this statistic. The world loses the creative contribution of 50% of its people when women are oppressed.

"We should assist children and women from marginalized groups in escaping their vulnerability and not letting their untapped potential go to waste," Amma said. “Men should pave the way—and even clear the way—for women as they advance and achieve. Men should strive to become broad highways rather than one-way streets. Women should focus on strengthening their cardiac muscles rather than striving to build up their muscle mass as males do. They must be prepared to go on and accept what happens while maintaining their confidence. We ought to make it possible for them to succeed.”

Even the female students at our college are subject to parental pressure to get married as soon as they get their undergraduate degrees, according to Amma. Few people are permitted to pursue a Ph.D. The parents nag them, claiming it will be challenging to find them a spouse since by the time they finish their Ph.D., they won't be of marriageable age. Can anything be done if we always worry that our girls won't be able to get married? They can undoubtedly showcase their abilities and serve society if the proper conditions are provided. Boys should be taught to respect women and girls from an early age.

The Chair of C20, Mata Amritanandamayi, creates a safe space for all voices to be heard, in her embrace - voices of women, men, children, marginalized and minority communities, and even the environment. This is according to Prof. Bhavani Rao R, the India Coordinator of the C20 Working Group on Gender Equality & Disability (GED) and the UNESCO Chair in Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment, Amrita University. The enormous humanitarian programs and efforts that go into treating the suffering of these voices are not publicly known. The Working Group on Gender Equality & Disability, led by Amma, promotes a society where all genders and people with disabilities live in harmony. Where we unite our voices, not as a cacophony but in harmony and with clarity, so that we may be stronger, wiser, and not simply heard.

The Gender Equality & Disability (GED) Working Group of C20 is dedicated to comprehensively investigating and resolving the various features of inequalities and disadvantages encountered by genders and persons with physical and/or mental disabilities. Through an awareness that compassion and respect for others must be at the centre of global governance for communities and the world to grow sustainably, it seeks to strengthen an approach to equality and development.

The Working Group is considering systemic issues like discrimination based on gender or ability, gender-based violence, lack of representation, and economic disparities while keeping this lens in mind. These issues include access to education, healthcare, financial and environmental resources, decent work, infrastructure, and decision-making. Eight subthemes are covered by its work: disability, society & culture, engaging men & boys, economic empowerment & sustainable livelihood, physical & mental health, safety & security, environment & disasters, and economic empowerment & sustainable livelihood.

The European Union and 19 other nations make up the G20 (Group of 20). It attempts to address important worldwide economic challenges. C20 offers a forum for Civil Society Organisations (CSO) from all over the globe to express the goals of the global community to the G20 leaders.