The rise in crime against women has definitely struck a chord among Bangaloreans. The staff and students of St Joseph's College of Arts and Science are doing everything they can to ensure that they spread the word about women's safety and also talk about the issue openly.
Recently, the Student Council and the women's forum of the college conducted a panel discussion for its staff and students on different aspects.
The discussion focussed on topics like 'How woman is not the weaker sex', 'Cultural production of gender stereotypes' and 'Gender empowerment and the legal aspects'.
The panel included Berin Lukas, HoD of Sociology department; Etienne Raseendran, professor, English department; Subhashini Muthukrishnan, professor, Economics department and Y J Rajendra, professor, Social Work department.
The discussion was intriguing and students raised a lot of points.
Most importantly, they wanted to know what they could do as students. Christina Martin, a student, adds, "India will truly achieve great heights only when men realise that the cause for rape or sexual harassment does not lie in a woman's clothes, tinted glass, travelling in the night, failure to ask for God's mercy or any such ridiculous claims, but in himself. Every man needs to learn to respect women."
The panelists made it clear that they are not trying to put the men down through the discussion but trying to pull the women up.
Many students felt very strongly about the issue and said that the it's the attitude of the people that should change first.
"We don't want to sit and wait for things to change. It's time we become that change," sums up Ashith Dev, a third-year student.
Recently, the Student Council and the women's forum of the college conducted a panel discussion for its staff and students on different aspects.
The discussion focussed on topics like 'How woman is not the weaker sex', 'Cultural production of gender stereotypes' and 'Gender empowerment and the legal aspects'.
The panel included Berin Lukas, HoD of Sociology department; Etienne Raseendran, professor, English department; Subhashini Muthukrishnan, professor, Economics department and Y J Rajendra, professor, Social Work department.
The discussion was intriguing and students raised a lot of points.
Most importantly, they wanted to know what they could do as students. Christina Martin, a student, adds, "India will truly achieve great heights only when men realise that the cause for rape or sexual harassment does not lie in a woman's clothes, tinted glass, travelling in the night, failure to ask for God's mercy or any such ridiculous claims, but in himself. Every man needs to learn to respect women."
The panelists made it clear that they are not trying to put the men down through the discussion but trying to pull the women up.
Many students felt very strongly about the issue and said that the it's the attitude of the people that should change first.
"We don't want to sit and wait for things to change. It's time we become that change," sums up Ashith Dev, a third-year student.