Vidya Balan said Every woman should be true to herself and her truth will be discovered through her actions.” at Lokmat Women’s Summit
To recognize the efforts and contribution made by women in their respective fields, Lokmat, Maharashtra’s and Goa’s Number 1 newspaper celebrated womanhood through its 6th edition of Women’s Summit 2017. In association with UN women and UNICEF, the women’s summit called ‘ASTITVA’ Through Her Eyes – the ultimate expression of womanhood witnessed women achievers from different walks of life who shared their experiences, views and opinions on various topics.
Actress Vidya Balan and Diva Dutta with Film Maker Mahesh Bhatt Olympic Medalist – Wrestler Geeta Phogat discussed various topics on women empowerment.
Other Eminent personalities like Mayor of Pune – Smt. Mukta Tilak, UN Women’s Representative for India – Dr. Rebecca Tavares, Social worker Preeti Patkar, Journalist Neerja Choudhary, Head Programmes Officer at UNICEF Henriette Ahrens, Chairperson of USK Foundation – Dr. Usha Kakade, Deputy Principal Officer US Embassy and Consulates- Ms. Jennifer Larson CEO and Design Head at VU Technologies Devita Saral and Chairman of Lokmat Media – Vijay Darda, were present for the event.
There were three categories of awards, Veena Devi Jeevan Gaurav Puraskar, Jyotsna Devi Karya Gaurav Puraskar and Lokmat Sakhi Sanman Puraskar given away to women in different categories like Social, bravery, health, education, art, literature and business. The summit was a platform to know from women’s perspective, her views and opinions and to felicitate the achievers.
At a panel discussion, Geeta Phogat said, “A woman contributes to 40% of the sports industry across the world. Dangal was a platform to bring in a change in the minds of people and to create awareness in the world not only about wrestling as a sport but to showcase that even women can make a difference through it. Attitude and overcoming one’s fear is important for women.”
When asked about Haryana being the leading state in killing of a girl child, she commented, “In our society even today, girls are not given their rights and not considered at par with men. This mind set is slowly changing now; women are coming forward with courage and power to prove to the world and to make a difference in the society. ”
Vidya Balan, renowned Bollywood actress shared her excitement to play a role of a powerful protagonist standing for her rights in Begum Jaan. She said, “My work is my extension as a woman and I think most successful and powerful women feel awkward and guilty for being most powerful but I rejoice my power and I’m discovering my power day by day. We have voices within all of us, but it is cloaked under societal pressures. When you have nothing to lose, it is very liberating. Every woman should be true to herself and her truth will be discovered through her actions.”
On Women empowerment Mahesh Bhatt, Producer and Director expressed his views saying “Feminism is not a gender, women are against women and at times men will give their life for a woman. Thus feminism is a human aspiration. I owe whatever I have to the women in my life”
Actress Divya Dutta unveiled her book called “Me and Maa”. When asked about her relationship with her mother, Divya Dutt mentioned, “I have had 3 different types of relationships with my mother; Firstly, as a mother, a best friend and a role reversal, my mother being a daughter.” Her book reveals her life and her connect with her mother speaking about how she has been a strong pillar of support for Divya’s success.
Speaking on the occasion Mr. Vijay Darda, Chairman, Lokmat Media Pvt Ltd said, “We at Lokmat are very proud to host the 6th Women’s summit today to recognize the contribution and achievements of women. Through this platform we give our audience and readers an opportunity to witness the role model women. It’s a platform to share views, openly and award some exemplary achievers. We hope this is a step in motivating today’s women to achieve success and soar higher.”
About Lokmat:
Lokmat Media Pvt. Ltd. is a leading multi-platform media company with interests in a diversified
portfolio of publishing, broadcast, digital, entertainment, community and social verticals. ‘Lokmat’ is the largest read regional language newspaper in India with 23.5 million readers (Source: Total Readership, IRS ’12 Q4) and the No. 1 Marathi newspaper in the country with 11 editions and a circulation of 1.4 million copies (Source: Audit Bureau of Circulation, July – Dec ’14). ‘Lokmat Samachar’, with 3 editions is one of the largest read Hindi daily in the country with over 1.3 million readers (Source: Total Readership, IRS ’12 Q4). ‘Lokmat Times’ has 3 editions. Lokmat has recently been awarded India’s Most Attractive Brand – Print in 2016 and received ABCI Award in Environmental Category for it Social Initiative for Save Water called ‘Jalmitra’.
