Delhi, February, 2020: School of Law, Sharda University
convened a seminar on January 31, 2020 on Women
Empowerment & Socio-Legal Challenges in 21st Century. The
seminar commenced with the inaugural l addresses of Hon’ble Mr Justice Hon’ble
Mr. Justice Dipak Misra, Former Chief Justice and by other dignitaries.
The inaugural session was the
highlight of the event, with noted speakers from the legal fraternity as well
as Sharda University top brass. Dean, School of Law Prof. Pradeep Kulshreshtha
proved the perfect host as he spoke very high about Chief Guest Hon’ble Mr
Justice Dipak Misra.
Hon’ble Mr. Justice DipakMisra, Former
Chief Justice of India dwelled at length as a veritable pioneer of women’s
rights and led the discussion with his ideals of equality. Hon’ble Chief Guest
emphasised that the rights of the citizens particularly women are natural
rights, recognised by the Constitution and emphasised on its importance in the
21st Century. Hon’ble Mr Justice also dwelled on the doctrine of
naturalness and principle of universalism while highlighting the leading
judgments of Apex Court. As always, the speech of Hon’ble Mr. Justice Dipak Mishra
was peppered with his characteristic humour which reeled in the spellbound
audience. As a father of two girls, one got to see a side of the judge rarely
seen in public as he emphasised his boundless love for his daughters.
Hon’ble Dr. Justice Satish Chandra,
Former Judge of the Allahabad High Court, also gave his two centson the
issue, drawing from his experience of being a witness to the myriad changes in
law. He highlighted role of judiciary while citing judgments of Vishaka case.
Advocate Dr Chandra Rajan, who
represented petitioners in the Triple Talaq case, shared her ideals of building
a better society through fortification of the home base, a sentiment that was shared
by the Chancellor Mr. P K Gupta. Hon’ble Chancellor also impressed upon
importance of girl education and told if girls are educated then automatically
whole society is well educated. Hon’ble Chancellor also spoke about the concept
of empowerment even at the home level and how his daughter and mother
influenced his decision making, personality and even his business decisions. He
told that the University was christened as an ode to hismother, a befitting
tribute to the impact of a woman as being permanent as opposed to an ephemeral
change.
Guest of Honour Prof. P K Malhotra as
well as theVice-Chancellor Prof. GRC Reddy appreciated the fact that the
National Seminar shall be a platform to debate and discuss women related
issues.
In the technical sessions more than 75
abstracts were received, which began post lunch, chaired by Professors
ArtiKaul, Dean, School of Education and Prof SP Srivastava, Faculty of Law,
Central University, South Bihar, Gaya, stalwarts in the legal field and
Advocate Swati Arora, all of whom were supported by the faculty of school of
law .Discussions revolved around collaboration on public policy issues; building
social networks; reforming the cultural and sociological mindsets as well as
dealing with stigmas derived from various sociological evils.
The seminar was well coordinated by
Dr. Urmila Yadav and Dr. Ritu Gautam, along with the aid of enthusiastic students
and research scholars. The event was an opportunity for the participants to
discuss concerns and suggestions by the attendees. It also facilitated the
exchange of opinions and expertise regarding economic policies and a discussion
on how to face new challenges at the grassroots level.