FDP on ‘Power and Influence of Women In Society and Literature’

Type of Activity: Faculty Development Program

Date/Duration of Activity (from-to): 08/12/2024-14/12/2024

Details of Resource Persons: Swati Bhattacharjee, Sr. Assistant Editor, ABP, Dr. Biswajit Ray, Prof., Visva Bharati University, Dr. Jhuma Basak, Psychoanalyst, Dr. Shenjuti Dutta, Prof., St. Xavier’s College, Dr. Sudakshina Ghish, Prof., Kishore Bharati Bhagini Nivedita College, Sri Abdul Kafi, Prof. Jadavpur University, Dr. Chitrita Banerjee, Prof., Shri Shikshayatan College, Smt. Rushati Sen, Prof. (Retd.) Basanti Devi College, Prof. Mobarra Siddiqua, Prof. Rajshahi University (Bangladesh), Dr. Debanjana Chakbraborty, Prof., The BESC, Smt. Urba Chaudhuri, Coordinator, Special Projects, Pratichi Institute.

Details of Special Lecturers & Session Coordinators: Siuli Sarkar, Principal, Lady Brabourne College, Prof Dilip Shah, Dean of Students, The BESC, Dr. Anupa Ghosh, IQAC Coordinator, The BESC, Ms. Debjani Ganguly, VP (Arts), The BESC, Dr. Mili Samaddar, HOD, Dept. of Bengali, The BESC, Dr. Debashis Mazumdar, Prof., Hritage College, Dr. Arpita Bhattacharya, Prof., Lady Brabourne College, Dr. Swati Moitra, Prof., Gurudas College and the faculties of The BESC, Mr. Tathagata Sen, Dr. Soumya Bhattacharya, Dr. Kasturi Mukherjee, Ms. Puja Sengupta, Mr. Supratik Sur Roy, Dr. Sampa Sinha Basu

Time: 20 Hrs.

No. of Participants: 75

Objective of the event: The seven-day Online Faculty Development Programme (International) topic titled ‘Power and Influence of Women in Society and Literature’ was jointly organized by the Bengali Department and I.Q.A.C. of The Bhawanipur Education Society College and the Bengali Graduate and Postgraduate Departments of Lady Brabourne College. The primarily objective of the programme was to analyze the socio-economic aspects of women’s empowerment in both Bengal and the evolution and progress of women’s empowerment in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries through the valuable sessions of the resource persons across all seven days.

Brief Description of the event: The FDP envisions the exploration of the empowerment of women in society and literature. It approached various aspects that contributed to the rise of women in society as well as the different areas where women needed to be uplifted. In the course of seven days, 11 resource persons delivered engaging sessions that covered various aspects of the empowerment of women in a range of areas such as the economic sector, the psychological, sphere, and the empowerment of women in film among many more. This FDP, whose co-ordinator was Dr. Sampa Sinha Basu kicked off with an inaugural keynote address by Prof. Siuli Sarkar that established the concept and goal of the next few days. The first session by Ms Swati Bhattacharjee covered the economic empowerment of women where she spoke about the inequitable laws when it came to the financial independence of women. She took key examples from arcane and restrictive ownership laws in the past, part of which has also trickled into the future. This was followed by an engaging session by Dr. Biswajit Roy on the empowerment of women in the 20th century. The second day began with a deep dive into the psychological Sphere and women’s empowerment by Dr. Jhuma Basak where she iterated on key factors shaping the social and psychological position of women that affected their power and empowerment in societal spheres. It was followed by Dr. Shenjuti Dutta’s detailed exploration of the empowerment of women in Film. As one of the most popular formats of media, Dr Dutta explored the power and role of female characters in various popular films such as Pushpa 2 where she also depicted femininity and transcending social roles. The third day began with Dr. Sudakshina Ghosh who explored nineteenth-century literature and the empowerment of women in the aspect of the seminal works produced in that era. The discussion was carried forward to the fourth day by Sri Abdul Kafi who disseminated the role of politics and women’s empowerment, depicting key aspects of the features that affected policy-making and society at large. The discussions of the fifth day included Dr. Chitrita Banerjee’s discussion of 20th-century literature and its role and impact on women’s empowerment. The sixth day witnessed Smt Rushati Sen speak about the role of nineteenth-century society in shaping and contributing to the empowerment of women in society. This was followed by our international speaker and resource person, Prof. Mobarra Siddiqua who held an engaging session on the social status of women after 1971, exploring key metrics contributing to and affecting the role and status of women in key areas. The final day of the seven-day FDP on ‘Society and Literature: Empowerment of Women’ was highlighted by Dr. Debanjana Chakraborty’s session on the empowerment of women and governance, which was followed by Smt. Urba Chaudhuri’s exploration of the empowerment of women in education. The FDP was fruitful and engaging, providing the participants with a renewed perspective of women’s empowerment as well as identifying central aspects that contribute positively and negatively towards the upliftment of women towards an equitable society.

Outcome of the event: The seven day FDP aimed at familiarising the participants with the various spheres of women’s empowerment such as social, political, educational, and more. The different sessions by the eminent speakers gave them insights into major factors that affected and shaped the growth and rise of women in key sectors of society. The discussions of seven days aimed to address and identify key areas of improvement towards the social standing of women as well providing food for thought towards the sustainable development of society to ensure an equitable and harmonious power structure.