Public Affairs and Social Issues (PASI)
Public Affairs and Social Issues (PASI) is a part of the association which makes it a social force for the extension of the Kingdom of God through faith-driven action and advocacy. It works on public issues vital to girls and women for betterment of society. Hence all its activities are centred on this area.
YWCA under the banner of PASI participates in a big way in with issues relating to the society along with NGOs working on women’s issues from all over India. PASI participates in generating awareness about the most important issues impacting the society.
PASI has tried to draw the attention of the public and the Government towards the Women’s Reservation Bill on 33% reservation for women in Parliament.The YWCA of Delhi in solidarity with the women of this country mobilized support for this very important bill.
The students and the staff from YWCA attended this rally in big numbers and marched to Jantar Mantar in an effort to question the Government as to why this issue was not being considered in the Lok Sabha. This rally was a joint effort by representatives from all over India and organisations like CBCI, JWP, Jagori, Centre for Social Research, All India Women’s Conference, AIDWA, NFIW, YWCA of India and YWCA of Delhi.
There were a number of meetings on discussion about 33% reservation for women in the Parliament which was facilitated by PASI department which were attended by CBCI, JWP, WPC, AIDWA, VIVAT, NFIW, ANHAD, YWCA of India and YWCA of Delhi. The agenda was to discuss what can be done in the remaining days before the closing of the winter session of the parliament on this issue. It was discussed to arrange meetings with parliamentarians and ministers and drafting and submission of memorandums to be submitted to them. This was the second advocacy meeting. A memorandum was sent to the Govt. in this regard with signatures.
A silent march on 23 December 2015 at Jantar Mantar juncture was held. Prominent activists under the leadership of Dr. Anne Raja, Padmini Kumar and Ms. Maimoona assembled at Jantar Mantar with written slogans and laid them down on the ground to protest the Government’s negligence and demanded the passage the women’s reservation bill in the winter session of parliament.
PASI organised a Meeting for National Christian Women Movement (NCWM) on International Women’s Day to consider the Elimination of Violence against women. This was the first meeting of Christian women under the wings of Indian Christian Women Movement (ICWM) which is a common platform to synergize energies of persons and organizations for the cause of the betterment and safety of women. The meeting took place in the YWCA of Delhi. Sr. Rita SCN led the august gathering in prayer and asked for God’s blessings upon the first programme of NCWM, Delhi unit. Sr. Veronica Monteiro BS welcomed one and all for this short yet meaningful meeting to mark the day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Sr. Shalini PBVM who was present at the time of ICWM’s birth in NBCLC Bangalore gave an introduction about ICWM- its vision, mission, goal and objectives. She expressed her joy in seeing quite a good number of women coming together on a short notice.
The Urban Development Project (UDP) of YWCA of Delhi shared thoughts and experiences of working with women who live in slums and urban villages with lots of violence in their families The Rural Development Project (RDP) of YWCA related many cases of violence faced by women and how it crushes down the spirit of women. It was decided that joint action was necessary to combat violence on women.
The planning meeting of One Billion and Rising (OBR) India, an International campaign against violence against women in all spheres of life on 7th January 2016 at Jagori.The organisations were apprised of the fact that OBR India has hired Central Park for observing OBR day on 14th February 2016. Various women organisations will participating in it by showing skits or plays and road shows. Ms. Kamla Bhasin requested the NGOs to report what they would do individually in their respective organisations and if they will also participate in the Central park in Connaught Place. YWCA of Delhi participated in One Billion Rising in Central Park of Rajiv Chowk. The Urban Development Project performed ‘Abla Nahi Sabla” in three different part of the Central Park for the benefit of the masses. A brief coverage in media by Zee TV and Sahara Times was telecast on the same day at 4 p.m.
A seminar at the Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society (CISRS) on 25 February 2016 was attended by the HOD-PASI. The topic was ‘The Laity in the Mission of God’; the Seminar began with an introduction on how the Clergy has captivated the Church and how the body of Christ, which comprises both laity and clergy, have not got equal status and responsibility. The common perception is that the church structure gives the clergy more authority and power. Mission of God in the Movement of People was the Biblical Reflection. Theology of Mission and the entire history of church existence in the role of a missionary was explained by Dr. Rev. Mathew. Post lunch Christian discipleship was explained by V M Mathew from Dharma Jyoti seminary, followed by a presentation on the Movement of the People by Dr. Roger Gaekwad, who gave the example of the Mizoram Christians who are a vibrant Christian community in the true context of the teaching of Jesus Christ.
The session came to an end with Rev. Dennis Lal who emphasised the theological literacy, alertness of laity, and the engagement of the laity in Social transformation. On 5th March 2016 International Women’s Day was celebrated in YWCA of Delhi, PASI co-chairperson invited advocate and activist Ms Bulbul Das to speak on the rights of the girl child this day was celebrated jointly with Membership Dept. Ms Nidhi Tiwari was invited by MAP chairperson as the guest of honour, she is the first woman to drive a trans-continental distance of 23,800 kms from Delhi to London, besides many other adventure achievements. The event was a great success.
The PASI participated in the International Women’s Day programme at Gandhi Smriti on 8 March 2016. Many representatives of different organisations and religious groups participated in peace prayers and the message of UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon on the importance of gender equality was heard by the august gathering. Part of the speech was on Sustainable Development Goals of the UN.
On 10 March 2016, the YWCA of Delhi PASI department participated in a meeting in solidarity with Dalit Christians from across the country who came together on Thursday, 10 March 2016, demanding that the Scheduled Caste (SC) status be extended to both Dalit Muslims and Christian. The rally took place at Jantar Mantar, Many Christian religious heads, appealed to the government to remove discrimination against the dalit Christians. The rally was organised by the National Coordination Committee for Dalit Christians.
Bishop Neethinathan, the chairperson of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, said: “even after 69 years of Independence, we are struggling for our rights. Sikhs first were included into the Act and later Buddhists were also given the status. Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims have been demanding SC status since, but to no avail.” The matter is with the Supreme Court but the case was supposed to be heard by a Higher Bench, which has not been done, he added. Mr. Samuel Jeyakumar, the executive secretary of the National Council of Churches in India, said: “We demand that paragraph III of the Constitution (Scheduled Caste) Order, 1950, which excludes Dalits Christians and Muslims from its purview, be scrapped.”
10th March, 2016, PASI participated the meeting of women’s organisations network at the office of Oxfam. The purpose of the meeting was to enhance participation of more organisations in the demand for the 33% reservation for women in parliament. Efforts were also to draft a memorandum which could be given to all political leaders to get their support.
Regarding counselling at YWCA, the PASI department contacted Sanjivni Society for Mental Health, The Director, Parul Parashar informed that they are very happy to be associated with the YWCA of Delhi. However, till September 2016 volunteers at Sanjivini are not able to give counselling service to any NGO due to paucity of counsellors. They are open to have future association with YWCA of Delhi and that they can arrange lectures in YWCA on alcoholism, domestic violence and related areas which adversely affect the lives of the women. Efforts are also being made to arrange awareness programmes on Caring for the Environment and pollution control with help from Dept. of Science and Environment, Govt. Of India.