Chandigarh had the honour of hosting the granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee. She was here as part of the national girls youth peace camp.
December 5 marked the national volunteer day which began from Chandigarh, and the motive is to gather over 500 volunteers within 30 days from different parts of the country.
At the concluding day of three-day National Girls Youth Peace Camp, a unique campaign for girls and women friendly ‘Safe public spaces Chandigarh’ was launched in her presence at Carmel Convent School, Sector 9, Chandigarh. Caroline Rowett, British Deputy High Commissioner, presided over the ceremony.
“The women I work with inspire me to fight for women’s rights while working for the Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trusts across India. I have seen women living through the worst, the best, and the hardest conditions. Their courage to work, their confidence, and their willingness to fight—that keeps me going,” said Tara Gandhi while addressing a gathering.
‘Chandigarh Citizens Initiative of Girls and Women Friendly City-the SDG 5 Compatible Chandigarh 2030 Campaign’ is exemplary and other cities and countries can learn so much from the experiments here, she said. She wished success to the campaign and lent her support to inspire young students to become ‘agents of change’.
She also dedicated a beautiful ‘oxygen park’ built at Carmel Convent School campus in memory of an ex-student, late Hirakshi, a class X student. Hirakshi, was killed in a mishap when part of a tree in the school campus fell on her in July this year. Seven best girl participants of National Girl Youth Peace Camp were also honoured.
The initiative was jointly organized by the Peace Club of Carmel Convent School, Yuvsatta-NGO, Chandigarh Institute of Hotel Management-CIHM, National Foundation for Communal Harmony under Government of India and Global Peace Foundation, USA.
Appreciating the initiative, British Deputy High Commissioner Caroline Rowett, said, “Imagine a new world—one created by bold young women, coming together to decide their own future and shaping the decisions that affect not only their lives, but their communities, their societies, and the world”.
Rowett believes that strengthening young women’s leadership is critical to the sustainability and resilience of women’s movements and long-term social transformation.
Sister Mary Supreeta, Principal, Carmel Convent, Sector 9, Chandigarh said, “When empowered young women rise up together, they break isolation, build solidarity, and strengthen movements that challenge the prevalent social, economic, and political barriers to their vision, voice, and agency”.
