Special Session with Rekha Sharma, Hon’ble Chairperson, National Commission for Women held at MCCI Conference Hall

News Mania March 22, 2023

0 2,174 2 minutes read

Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce & Industry and MCCI Ladies Forum organised a Special Session with Ms. Rekha Sharma, Hon’ble Chairperson, National Commission for Women on “Empowering Women through Social Entrepreneurship”, on 21st March 2023 at the Chamber.

The session was also addressed by Ms. Rowan Ainsworth, Consul General of Australia in Kolkata and Ms. Alokananda Roy, Internationally Renowned Author, Dancer and Social Activist.

Ms. Rekha Sharma, Hon’ble Chairperson of the National Commission for Women said that in recent times, women have been seen to come forward as leaders in various roles. NCW plays a significant role in encouraging the concept of social entrepreneurship among women.

Ms. Sharma said that NCW has introduced four weeks of entrepreneurial training for women through IIMs, across India. NCW has also initiated two-day training programs in colleges to educate girl students in digital literacy and make them job-ready. During the COVID times, NCW in association with META, introduced the Digital Shakti Program to train women on how to safely use social media for their businesses. Ms. Sharma further mentioned some initiatives of NCW that helped lots of people during the COVID period.

Hon’ble Chairperson said that NCW has already coordinated with the Bangladesh Human Rights Commission about women prisoners to create a suitable environment for them so that those women can lead normal life. She suggested that the government make mid-way homes for the patients, who come back home after recovering from mental homes.

(L – R) : **Ms. Nita Bajoria,** Chairperson, MCCI Ladies Forum (MLF), **Ms. Rekha Sharma,** Hon’ble Chairperson, National Commission for Women, **Mr. Namit Bajoria,** President, MCCI, **Ms. Rowan Ainsworth,** Consul General of Australia in Kolkata and **Ms. Alokananda Roy,** Internationally Renowned Author, Dancer and Social Activist at a Special Session on **‘Empowering Women through Social Entrepreneurship’** organised by MCCI held at MCCI Conference Hall.

Ms. Rowan Ainsworth, Consul General of Australia in Kolkata said that gender equality should be the priority in human rights. Society should focus on awareness of any kind of violence against women, gender equality and women empowerment.

Ms. Alokananda Roy, an Internationally Renowned Author, Dancer and Social Activist in her address shared her incredible journey for empowering the inmates of correctional homes through songs and dance. She mentioned that no child is a born criminal. Society has the responsibility to create a better environment for every child. “Instead of celebrating Women’s and Men’s Day, we all should celebrate InternationalDay of Humanity”, said Ms. Roy.

While welcoming the guest, Mr. Namit Bajoria, President, MCCI in his address said that empowering women through social entrepreneurship is the process of promoting gender equality and involves providing access to education, training, and financial resources to support female-led social enterprise
Mr. Bajoria expressed that increasing involvement of women in entrepreneurial activity is associated with the improved status of women, enhanced family and community well-being and broader societal gains.

In this session, Ms. Shikha Janoriya, Lead Designation, Bamboo Women Artisans and Ms. Mim Khatun, Social Entrepreneur Working on Girl Child Education shared their story of changing lives at the grassroot level. They were awarded Krritika Fellowship for their outstanding work for society. Ms. Moumita Ghosh, Co-Director Cure SMA India also shared her story about the collective of mothers fighting against rare diseases like SMA.

The Session concluded with a Vote of thanks proposed by Ms. Nita Bajoria, Chairperson, Council for MCCI Ladies Forum. She expressed her gratitude to the speakers for sharing their views about women’s emancipation movement which has made great strides and is gradually growing from strength to strength in our country.