Beyond celebration, Women’s Day at Loreto College centers on empowerment

At an event on March 14, the college’s Women and Gender Development Cell presented the Lakshmi Chatterji Memorial Lifetime Award to Sister Monica Suchiang, recognising her work with marginalised communities, including women in red-light districts, migrant labourers and trafficking survivors.

Suchiang, provincial of the South Asia Province and president of the Kolkata Mary Ward Social Centre, highlighted initiatives focused on education, healthcare, livelihood support and child protection.

She said efforts such as the "My Days" sanitary pad unit have helped improve access to menstrual hygiene for women and girls in parts of West Bengal and Bihar.

She urged students to view education as both a privilege and a responsibility to support underserved communities.

Photo: Provided

The event also featured an address by Paromita Chakravarti, professor of English and former director of the School of Women’s Studies at Jadavpur University.

Chakravarti examined the theme "Give to Gain", questioning its framing and highlighting gaps between legal definitions of equality and lived realities, particularly within households.

She said gender equality in public life cannot be fully realised without corresponding changes in domestic and social structures.

Separately, the college observed Women’s Health Week from March 9 to 13, organised by the Loreto College Alumnae Association in collaboration with the Women and Gender Development Cell.

The programme included sessions on strength training, yoga, Zumba, dance movement therapy and mindfulness, aimed at promoting physical, mental and emotional well-being. Resource persons led discussions on stress management, fitness and preventive health care.

Photo: Provided

Students, staff and alumnae participated in the sessions, which organisers said were intended to encourage healthier lifestyles and greater awareness of women’s health issues.