The University of Hyderabad (UoH) celebrated the National Women’s Day, observed on the birth date of India’s first woman governor Sarojini Naidu, in association with the Red Brigade, Lucknow on 13th February, 2018.
Prof. Appa Rao Podile, Vice-Chancellor, UoH, extended a warm welcome to the gathering. Talking about Sarojini Naidu, he said, “She was a child prodigy and a great leader. The university is indebted for her contribution and as a tribute, a school in the university is named after her. Every day every minute we remember her at the university.”
The Red Brigade’s founder, Ms. Usha Vishwakarma, during her motivating speech, encouraged women to become self-efficient and capable enough for protecting themselves in difficult situations without expecting anyone’s help. Further she spoke on the gender divide still prevalent in the society and emphasized that a change in mentality at the household level might help in solving the problem. Ms. Vishwakarma also demonstrated some of the self-defense techniques to the audience.
Mrs. V Usha Rani, IAS, Director General, MANAGE (National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management) was the Chief Guest for the event. She spoke extensively about the life of Sarojini Naidu, her achievements and how fearless she was.
Major highlights of the event were the splendid theatrical and dance performance presented by the theatre and dance students of the Sarojini Naidu School of Arts and Communication, UoH. Along side this, there was a paintings exhibition set up by the students of Department of Fine Arts, UoH, which was a major attraction for the spectators.
Later, Prof. Appa Roa Podile and Mrs. Usha Rani hurled a green signal to the rally that is undertaken by 15 girl members of the Red Brigade. The 17 days rally which began from the birthplace of Sarojini Naidu (Golden Threshold) at Hyderabad will complete on March 2, 2018 at the Governor’s House in Lucknow, where she breathed her last.
By
Prateek Talukdar, Monika Tiwari and Swati Pant
Department of Communication