IAWS conference seeks to ponder equality, pluralism

Nandita Haksar addressing the IAWS conference at Guwahati
 
Guwahati, February 5 (MExN): The Indian Association for Women’s Studies (IAWS) opened its 14th National Conference on Women’s Studies on the theme ‘Equality, Pluralism and the State: Perspectives from Women’s Movements’ at Gauhati University on February 4.

In her presidential address, Prof. Ilina Sen spoke of the 33 year old journey of IAWS, as well as the venue of the conference (Guwahati) as it is the gateway to lived realities of diverse communities and their histories and struggles for social justice. Despite the growth and increased visibility of IAWS, she said, there is now a leadership vacuum as many of the founders and pioneers have passed away. She called on the young members to come forward to take responsibilities in these challenging times. The structures of legal systems are falling apart, giving rise to skepticism about engaging for policy change, Prof. Sen noted. Further, she observed that the manner in which the State handled violence, in particular sexual violence against women, shows the weaknesses in the system. With liberalization, the country’s resource bases have opened up to international imperial capital and there is now both a “shining India” and “India destitute.”

The challenge of professionalization of women’s studies and the women’s movements is an issue to be addressed, stated Prof. Sen.

In the Madhuri Shah memorial lecture, Nandita Haksar, prominent lawyer and human rights activist, stressed on the significance of opening up the debate on pluralism. She spoke of varied levels of conflict and how conflict could be or can be made creative, and how there could be a contradiction between notions of equality and community in a lived reality- she cited the demand for individual rights to property/land as carrying possibilities for loss of community (eg. Tribal land) to non tribals or other interests including company/corporates, etc. She stressed the need to locate ‘tribe’ in its contemporary context. She critiqued homogenized notions of rights. Instead of providing answers, Haksar sought to complicate the questions of equality, pluralism, key concepts that the IAWS conference seeks to deliberate upon, drawing from varied disciplinary approaches as well as from experiences from the ground.

Dr. Kumud Sharma, founding member of IAWS, opened the conference. Among the speakers were Vice Chancellor, Gauhati University, Sayeda Hameed, member planning commission (inaugural speech), Vice Chancellor, Cotton College, State University, Ilina Sen (president IAWS), representatives of supporting organizations including Monisha Behal, North East network (NEN).