Uniting South Asian women
A troupe of young girls welcoming the delegates to the Balmoral hall at the Kingsbury Hotel set the scene for the inaugural session of the 5th Annual SWAN Conference on Friday morning. SWAN (South Asia Women’s Network) is a programme dedicated to facilitating and allowing women the opportunity to network with their counterparts from all over South Asia.
Young dancers escorting the chief guest and delegates to the Balmoral hall at the Kingsbury Hotel for the inaugural session of the 5th Annual SWAN Conference
This year’s conference was on the theme ‘Gender Equity for Peace and Sustainable Development for the Women of South Asia’ and was the first to be held in Sri Lanka. Networking it was, for the conference held on August 23 and 24, had the participation of over 50 foreign delegates from India, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, Pakistan, Myanmar and Afghanistan. An MP from Afghanistan and the Minister of Environment and Energy of Maldives also graced this occasion.
Having been established in 2009, SWAN has its headquarters in the Academy of International Studies in Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), New Delhi (India). Together with the support of the ICCR and South Asia Foundation (SAF) they have worked towards uniting women from around South Asia who face similar issues.
Professor Veena Sikri, the Convener of SWAN elaborated on their objective as she felt that South Asian women “are the largest minority trapped at the bottom of a patriarchal pyramid”. Professor Sikri went on to state that “women were the most affected by poverty and abuse” and emphasised the need for women to play a stronger role.
The Guest of Honour was Prof. Savithri Gunasekera, former Vice Chancellor of the University of Colombo and Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa was the Chief Guest for the event.
SWAN functions through eight networks covering the areas of Education; Finance, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood Development; Arts and Literature; Women in Peacemaking; Environment; Health, Nutrition and Food Sovereignty; Crafts and Textiles; and Women in Media.
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