Summary:
Bhubaneswar: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued a guideline and asked universities and colleges of the state to open Centre for Womens Studies in universities and colleges.The centre would focus on developing knowledge and building curriculum in women studies to meet the diverse needs of Indian women. It will suggest methods to build a conducive environment for women to take up positions of leadership in diverse sectors, conduct research on women and economic development and promote inclusion of women in all sectors.In the guideline, the UGC has suggested some activities that the centre could take up on its own. We have not received the guideline yet, but we will definitely go for setting up the centre as it would not only help our students but also society at large,” said Padmaja Mishra, vice-chancellor of Rama Devi Women’s University. The mission here is to support the states to create an environment for women that is free from violence and discrimination.The UGC, besides providing a financial assistance of Rs 35 lakh to the centre in a university per year and Rs 25 lakh to a college, would also collaborate with the authorities to develop curricula for short-term certificates, diploma courses and teacher training.“We already have a centre for gender studies, but a dedicated centre for women studies will help conduct scientific and inclusive studies on the subject. In teaching, the centre can conduct foundation or short-term courses on women studies for all the undergraduate students in the universities.Similarly, in research, the study centre can take measures to build research capabilities that would include data mining, review of literature, action and feminist research methods among others.It can also organise workshops on innovative or feminist research methodologies.The aim of the guideline is to empower women in India to live with dignity so that they can contribute as valued partners in sustainable development of self, families and the nation at large..