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Home , Amruta Patil, Anoyara Khatun, Bharat Ratna, Nandita Shah, Nari Shakti Puraskar, Pallavi Fauzdar

ALU - WOMEN‟S STUDIES BULLETIN

VOLUME – 14, ISSUE- 14 September- 2017

Editor - in – Chief: Prof.K.MANIMEKALAI

Editors : Mrs.P.Sindhuja Mrs.S.Geetha Mr.M.Paranthaman

Ms.S.Karthika Mr.B.Pon Vignesh

Editorial desk Nutrition plays a great role in our daily life. It is the process by which we obtain food and use it for growth, keeping our bodies working properly and warding off diseases. The food or liquids affect our body and health because each food or liquid contain particular nutrition which is very necessary for our physical and mental growth. The nutrition value is more important for any individual's health. The food or liquids whenever we take it affect our body and health as well both. So it is very important that we should be aware of the foods or liquids whatever we take in our daily life. A large number of diseases occur only due to wrong diet. Certain diet may itself cause some disease or alter the course of a known disorder such as diabetes, heart or kidney disease. The risk factors for adult chronic diseases, like hypertension and type 2 diabetes, are increasingly seen in younger ages, often a result of unhealthy eating habits and increased weight gain. Dietary habits established in childhood often carry into adulthood, so teaching children how to eat healthy at a young age will help them stay healthy throughout their life. Poor nutrition affects the body in a bad way and has been identified as the most significant factor contributing to the declining health status of Indigenous people. It has been linked to heart disease, kidney damage and diabetes. So we should know that what food we have to take, how much and what type of nutrition contain a particular food. The link between good nutrition and healthy weight, reduced chronic disease risk, and overall health is too important to ignore. By taking steps to eat healthy, helps to get the nutrients to our body needs to stay healthy, active, and strong. As with physical activity, making small changes in diet can go a long way, and it's easier than you think!

QUOTABLE QUOTES

Importance of Nutrition Labels

Nutrition labels tell you about the nutrition of a particular product. This information includes serving size, number of servings in the package, calories per serving and the amount of various nutrients contained in the product. Once we understand the labels, it will help us to follow a healthy diet and make it easier to choose the most nutritious foods.

Making Healthy Food Decisions

A study published in "Food Policy" in June 2010 found that nutrition labels do affect people's food choices. When we are deciding between two different foods, we can look at the nutrition labels to determine which food is more nutritious. We can compare the labels to determine which foods are lowest in Calories, Fat, Saturated Fat, Trans Fat, Cholesterol, Sodium and Sugar. Checking the ingredients list will help us to avoid foods that contain additives or other ingredients that we want to avoid.

Maintaining a Healthy Weight

Reading nutrition labels help us to make the right food choices when we are trying to lose weight or prevent weight gain. In a study published in the "Journal of the American Dietetic Association" in April 2000, people told by their doctors to lose weight for health reasons who used nutrition labels consumed fewer calories, more fiber and less saturated fat, sugar and carbohydrates than the people who didn't use nutrition labels.

Considerations

While nutrition facts labels can be helpful, not everyone understands the information included or the importance of it. A study published in the "American Journal of Preventive Medicine" in November 2006 found that people who had low levels of literacy and numeracy often didn't understand these labels and that even some people who were more literate sometimes had trouble in interpreting nutrition facts labels. Doctors and other health providers need to provide education to their patients on how to use these labels when making dietary recommendations.

The 20 most Powerful Women in the World for 2016

The Forbes Magazine unveiled its 13th annual list of “The World‟s 100 most Powerful Women” on June 2016. German Chancellor Angela Merkel topped the list for the sixth consecutive year and eleven times in total. Four Indian business Women stormed into the 2016 edition of The World‟s 100 Most Powerful Women list, brought out by Forbes. They are:

 Arundhati Bhattacharya(30), Chairperson of SBI  Chanda Kochhar (40), MD and CEO of ICICI Bank  Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (77), Chairperson and MD of Biocon; and  Shobhana Bhartia (93), Chairperson and Editorial Director of HT Media Ltd.

The 20 most Powerful Women in the World for 2016 are;

1. Angela Merkel- Chancellor , Germany 2. Hillary Clinton- Presidental Candidate, United States 3. Janet Yellen- Fedral Reserve Chairperson, United States 4. Melinda Gates- Cochair Person, Bill and Melinds Gates Foundation, United States 5. Mary Barra- CEO, General Motors, United States 6. Christine Largarde- Managing Director, International Monetary Fund, France 7. Sheryl Sandberg- Chief Operating Officer, Face Book and Founder of Lean In, United States 8. Susan Wojciciki- CEO, You tube, United States 9. Meg Whitman- CEo, Hewlett- Packard, United States 10. Ana Patricia Botin- Executive Chairperson, Santander Group, Banco Santander, Spain 11. Ginni Rometty- CEO, IBM, United States 12. Park Geun-Hye- President, South Korea 13. Michelle Obama- First Lady, United States 14. Indira Nooyi- CEO, Pepsico, United States 15. Angela Abrendts- Senior Vice President, Apple, United States 16. Abigail Johnson- President-CEO, Fidelity Investments , United States 17. Tsai Ing-Wen- President, Taiwan 18. Michelle Bachelet- President, Chile 19. Federica Mogherini- High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Italy 20. Safra Catz- Co-CEO, Oracle, United State

Nari Skathi Puruskar-2016

The has decided to confer “Nari Shakti Puruskar” on eminent women and institutions rendering distinguished service to the cause of women especially belonging to the vulnerable and marginalized sections of the society. These include institutional and individual awards for making outstanding contributions to women‟s endeavor/community work/making a difference/women empowerment. Nari Shakti Puruskar would carry a cash award of Rs. 1 lakh and a certificate for individuals and Institutions. This year(2017) Ministry of Women & Child Development sought nominations from the State Governments, Union Territory Administrations, concerned Central Ministries, Non-Governmental Organizations, Universities, Institutions, Private and Public sector undertakings (PSUs) working for empowerment of women for consideration of Selection Committee under the Chairpersonship of the Minister, Ministry of Women and Child Development. In addition the Selection Committee also considered individuals and institutions other than those recommended by the State Governments/Central Ministries.

President presented Nari Skathi Puruskars 2016 at , New on the occasion of International Women‟s Day, 8th March, 2017.

Awardees of , 2016

1. State of 16. Ms. Janki Vasant, 2. Chhanv Foundation (Sheroes Café), 17. Dr. Kalpana Shankar, Delhi 18. Ms. Kalyani Pramod Balakrishnan, 3. Mizo Hmeichhe Insuihkhawm Pawl Tamil Nadu (M.H.I.P), 19. Ms. Mumtaz Kazi, Mahrashatra 4. Sadhana Mahila Sangha, 20. Dr. , Tamil Nadu 5. Shikshit Rojgar Kendra Prabandhak 21. Ms. , Delhi Samiti, Rajasthan 22. Ms. , Karnataka 6. Tripunithura Kathakali Kendram Ladies 23. Ms. Qamar Dagar, Delhi Troupe, 24. Ms. Reema Sathe, 7. Ms. , 25. Ms. Ringyuichon Vashum, 8. Ms. Amala Akkineni, 26. Ms. , Kerala 9. Ms. Anatta Sonney, Karnataka (Joint 27. Ms. , Chattisgarh Award) 28. Ms. Sumitra Hazarika, 10. Ms. , 29. Ms. Sunita Singh Chocken, 11. Ms. B. Codanayaguy, Puducherry 30. Ms. , Kerala 12. Ms. Bano Haralu, 31. Ms. Tiasa Adhya, West Bengal 13. Ms. Deepa Mathur Rajasthan 32. Ms. V. Nanammal, Tamil Nadu 14. Ms. Divya Rawat, 33. Ms. Zuboni Humtsoe, Nagaland (Joint 15. Dr. Ilse Köhler Rollefson, Rajasthan Award) (Joint Award)

NATURE AND IMPORTANCE OF WOMEN STUDIES

Continuation of previous issue Women's studies grew rapidly in the 1970s,. The introductory course covered some aspects of women's history, an examination of quantitative research on women's status, selected reading of literary works by women, and attention to issues largely absent from the overall curriculum. These issues centered on the oppression of women, sexual assault, questions of marriage and family, the professional advancement of women, pay equity, and representations of women in media, among other topics. Courses offered by department related to women i.e., The Psychology of Women, Images of Girls in Literature, Feminist Methods and Feminist Theories.

The Ph.D. in women's studies emerged in the 1990s. In the United States, M.A. and Ph.D. programmes tended to be organized around issue clusters and offered students opportunities to enter the professorate as well as to assume research positions in government, corporate, and non-profit sectors. In Europe, Japan, Latin America, and the United Kingdom, undergraduate degrees in women's studies were less common and graduate research degrees more frequent.

As programs became departments and as departments grew, the course offerings of the major changed to reflect the emergent scholarship. Courses on identities and differences among women, courses with a global focus, courses that linked with other new fields (cultural studies, American studies, popular culture, media studies, ethnic studies, gay and lesbian studies, queer studies) all emerged in the 1980s and 1990s. The most significant shifts in course offerings at the undergraduate level occurred in the 1990s as the study of gender and of race were added to the study of women. By 2000 women's studies programs numbered nearly 800; most had added a concern with gender to their teaching and research missions while retaining a focus on women's inequality.

National Settings

Women's studies first emerged in India during the 1970s as a forceful critique of those processes that had made women invisible after independence - invisible not only to society and the state, but also to higher education and its disciplines. The Asian region, India seems to be occupying a significant position in terms of quantity and diversity of material in women‟s studies. Though the concern for studying women and organizing action for improving the conditions of women is not new, what is strikingly different is the new perspective based on theoretical knowledge and ideological underpinning both in research and in action? However, the education system has been rather lukewarm in promoting the values of equality and gender justice. In many ways the educational system on the other hand actively reinforces gender differences through curriculum and teacher bias. Only after 1970 some attention been drawn into focus on women in the educational system. The indifference of the system in incorporating women‟s dimensions in the syllabi was clearly made evident at the First National Conference on Women‟s Studies(NCWS)held in Bombay in 1981.Areview of curricula in different disciplines undertaken by the NCWS, highlighted the virtual absence of women in curricula. In response to an appeal sent by the conference organizers to one hundred universities and nearly fifty institutions of higher learning, technical or otherwise for a status report on research on women and women‟s presence in curricula, only fifty-seven institutions responded and out of them only twenty-three institutions sent their syllabi. Even a cursory look at the syllabi of various social sciences and literature left no one in doubt about the near total absence of women in the curriculum. More concerned effort was made by the Research Centre on Women‟s Studies, SNDT in 1984 by listing the Universities were approached, only thirty responded from among them. Of these twenty – six Universities reported having some kind of women‟s studies programs but of these again, barely twelve had teaching programs at various levels. This is marked improvement within the course of three years- an encouraging development indeed. While this is the history of the introduction of women‟s studies in India. Will be continued in the next month bulletin…….

GLOSSARY OF WOMEN‟S STUDIES

Gender Parity: Gender Parity is a “…equal numbers of men and women at all levels of the organization. It includes significant participation of both men and women, particularly at senior levels. Gender parity is one of several integrated mechanisms for improving organizational effectiveness.”(UNDP Gender Parity Report 2007).

Gender-based Violence: “Gender-based violence is a form of discrimination that seriously inhibits women‟s ability to enjoy rights and freedoms on the basis of equality with men…Gender based violence, which impairs or nullifies the enjoyment by women of human rights and fundamental freedoms under general international law or under human rights conventions, is discrimination within the meaning of Article 1 of (CEDAW).”

Gender Awareness: refers to the recognition of the differences in the interests, needs and roles of women and men in society and how this results in differences in power, status and privilege. It also signifies the ability to identify problems arising from gender inequality and discrimination.

GLIMPSES OF THE MONTH

NATIONAL NUTRITION WEEK 2017 - 1st Sep - 7th Sep

This year the theme is „Optimal Infant & Young Child Feeding Practices: Better Child Health”

National Nutrition Week

National Nutrition Week is celebrated each year from 1st September to the 7th September to create awareness among the people about the important tips of their health and well-being. Through the national nutrition week campaign people from all over the world are educated to maintain their look and feel better. The objective of the National Nutrition Week is to enhance the nutritional practice awareness among people of the community through the adoptable training, timely education, seminars, different competitions, road shows and many other campaigns and to make a healthy Nation.

History of National Nutrition Week

The campaign was first started by the Central Government in the year 1982 in order to encourage the good health and healthy living through the nutrition education as the malnutrition is the main obstruction to the National Development. To encourage the people for the same, the Food and Nutrition Board including 43 units (departments of women and child development, health and NGOs) is working all over the country to maneuver the activities. Objectives of the National Nutrition Week Celebration

 To review the frequency of problems to various diet and nutrition in the communities.  To evaluate the appropriate techniques to prevent and control the nutritional problems through deep research.  To monitor the condition of the country for the diet and nutrition.  To perform the operational research in order to plan and implement the national nutrition programs.  To aware people through the orientation training about health and nutrition.

NATIONAL TEACHERS DAY 2017 – Sep 5th

Teachers‟ Day is celebrated every year on 5th of September to honor and acknowledge the contribution made by countless numbers of teachers in helping and molding the careers of lakhs of students and in turn shaping the destiny of India.

Origin of Teacher‟s Day Celebration

The day was marked for the celebration as Teachers‟ Day since 1962 in respect and deference of Dr. who was born on 5th September, 1888. Dr.Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was a great scholar, philosopher and teacher of modern India and was awarded in 1954. He became the first Vice (from 1952 to 1962) and the second President of India (from 1962 to 1967). It was his wish that instead of celebrating his birthday on 5th of September every year, it would be better to celebrate it as Teachers‟ Day all over India. Therefore, it was only natural way that his birthday would be celebrated as teachers day to pay respect towards lakhs of unknown teachers across the country. India‟s teacher‟s day is different from the World Teacher Day which is celebrated on 5th of October every year in whole world.

INTERNATIONAL LITERACY DAY (8th SEPTEMBER)

The theme of „Literacy in a digital world‟

September 8th was declared International Literacy Day by UNESCO on November 17, 1965. Its aim is to highlight the importance of literacy to individuals, communities and societies. The day is celebrated specially to rememorize the status of the literacy and adult education to the international community. It is an opportunity for Governments, civil society and stakeholders to highlight improvements in world literacy rates, and reflect on the world's remaining literacy challenges. The issue of literacy is a key component of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The UN's Sustainable Development Goals, adopted by world leaders in September 2015, promotes, as part of its agenda, universal access to quality education and learning opportunities throughout people‟s lives. Sustainable Development Goal 4 has as one of its targets ensuring all young people achieve literacy and numeracy and those adults who lack these skills are given the opportunity to acquire them.

Significance of International Literacy Day

Celebrating the International Literacy Day is to promote the human attention towards the literacy and know their rights for social and human development. Literacy is as important as food to be alive and success. It is too necessary to eradicate the poverty, lowering the child mortality, controlling the population growth, attaining the gender equality etc. Literacy has the ability to raise the family status and hence the country status. It is celebrated to encourage the people towards getting continuous education and understand their responsibilities for the family, society and the country.

Violence against Women in Tamil Nadu

“All my life I had to fight. I had to fight my daddy. I had to fight my brothers. I had to fight my cousins and my uncles. A girl child ain't safe in a family of men. But I never thought I'd have to fight in my own house. She let out her breath. I love Harpo, she says. God knows I do. But I'll kill him dead before I let him beat me.” - Alice Walker

Though Tamil Nadu is one of the progressive States in the country, the percentage of spousal violence is something which it cannot take pride in. According to the National Family Health Survey 4 (2015-16), two out of every five married women in the State are victims of spousal violence and barely there is a decline in last 10 years. Despite the recognition of spousal violence as a criminal offence since 1983 (IPC 498-A), there was no civil law until the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act which was enacted in 2005. While there is drastic drop in spousal violence in States such as , Assam, , Tripura and West Bengal, there was only a 1.3 (41.9 to 40.3) per cent drop here between 2005 and 2015. Prevalence of spousal violence is higher in rural (44.2) than in urban (37.2) areas. Tamil Nadu has been ranked fifth in India in prevalence of domestic violence. Reporting of events of abuse is considered higher in the State. Tamil Nadu Government has taken several step to protect women from various issues, specifically it is to be noted that Tamil Nadu is the first Indian state to set up “All Woman Police Stations” to deal with violence against women.

1st year M.A. Integrated Home Science, Department of Women‟s Studies, Alagappa University

PROGRAMMES CARRIED OUT DURING THE MONTH OF SEPYEMBER NUTRITION WEEK CELEBRATION 'Nutrition Awareness - Key to Healthy Nation'

The Department of Women‟s Studies conducted an awareness programme for school students of Alagappa Model School in Karaikudi on 4th September 2017. The programme was started at 11.00 a.m. in the Library Hall of Alagappa Model School. The theme of the programme was 'Nutrition Awareness - Key to Healthy Nation'. The programme was started with the thematic address by the Assistant Head Mistress of Alagappa Model School, Ms.A.Subbulakshmi. In her thematic address she highlighted the various illness faced by the school students due to Malnutrition. Ms.P.Sindhuja, Project Assistant, Centre for Women‟s Studies, Alagappa University taught the Safe hygiene tips with regard to hand washing, cutting of nails and use of safe drinking water. Ms.R.Ramya, Teaching Assistant, Department of Women‟s Studies, Alagappa University, elaborated the basic food groups and balanced diet from which they can get good nutritious things. She also highlighted the benefits of including the whole grains, fruits, vegetables, fat-free milk or milk products, meats, fish, nuts and seeds in their day to day life. The session was very interactive and students enhanced their knowledge on ways and means to lead healthy life. Nearly 150 girls students from 11th and 12th standard actively participated in the programme. 1st year M.A. Integrated Home Science student M.Bhuvaneswari welcomed the gathering and L.Rathika delivered vote of thanks.

“Awareness programme on Cleanliness, Hygiene and Sanitation”

On 4th September forenoon “Awareness programme on Cleanliness, Hygiene and Sanitation” was conducted at Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Muthupattinam. This program aimed at educating the children on the desirable health care and hygienic standards in a clean and hygienic environment. Ms.P.Sindhuja, Project Assistant, Centre for Women‟s Studies, Alagappa University briefly explained the importance of personal hygiene and the role of students in promoting the environmental hygiene. Ms.R.Ramya, Teaching Assistant, Department of Women‟s Studies, Alagappa University, elaborated the benefits of taking the “Balanced Diet” and consequences of Malnutrition. More than 200 students participated and benefited with gaining awareness on personal hygiene and environment sanitation.

“Awareness Programme on Healthy Living”

On 5th September “Awareness programme on Healthy Living” conducted at Sri Meenakshi Girls Hr. Sec. School, Karaikudi. 1st year M.A. Integrated Home Science student M.Bhuvaneswari welcomed the gathering. The Head Mistress, Ms.B.Bhuvaneswari delivered the inaugural address. In thematic address Ms.B.Stella Rani, PG Tamil, highlighted the importance of nutrition and nutrition awareness. Dr.S.Bhuvaneswari, Progamme Cordinator, Swachh Bharath emphasized the role of students in promoting the environment hygiene. Ms.P.Sindhuja, Project Assistant explained about the use of locally/daily available food and vegetables in the market, especially lemon and seasonal fruits and vegetables, for preparing nutritious food. Ms.R.Ramya, Teaching Assistant briefly elaborated the consequences of malnutrition. She highlighted that Nutrition is an issue of survival, health and development for current and succeeding generations. She also emphasized that malnourished children tend to have lower IQ and impaired cognitive ability, thus affecting their school performance and productivity movement in later life. At the end of the session questions were encouraged and clarified. Nearly 200 students from 11th and 12th standard actively participated and enriched their knowledge on healthy living practices. 1st year M.A. Integrated Home Science student T.Nivetha thanked staff and all the participants for making the programme successful on the occasion of Nutrition Week.

“Symposium on Students and Screen: A New Addiction”

A one-day “Symposium on Students and Screen: A New Addiction” was organized today (18.09.2017, Monday) under the aegis of the Department of Women‟s Studies, Alagappa University, Karaikudi. Prof.K.Manimekalai, Former Vice-Chancellor of Mother Theresa University, Kodaikanal and currently the Dean, Faculty of Arts, Alagappa University while welcoming the gathering, highlighted the great relevance and current significance of theme of the symposium and how it is intrinsically linked to students‟ day-to-day activities. Healthy and productive human resources contributing to the nation‟s development is the need of the hour and not addicts of any kind. Too much dependency on communication gadgets and instruments such as the Television, Cinema, Internet, and Smart Phone have fostered an addictive behaviour on the part of the youngsters. “We should keep these instruments under our control and we should not live under their control”, she quipped spending quality time with our family members and friends and playing indoor and outdoor games would release us from the clutches of Screen Addiction.

Dr.K.R.Murugan, Professor and Head, Department of Social Work, Alagappa University while inaugurating the symposium, stated that India‟s future lies in the hands of the youth population which is almost 40 percentages in the total population of the country. Nurturing vibrant and healthy youth for the nation‟s development becomes imperative in this context. He added that positive aspects of communication gadgets should be taken into account by the youth for their progress and they should always remember that any addiction would lead to negative impact on their lives making them depressed, irritable and anxiety ridden persons. He illustrated the negative impact caused to some individuals owing to the impact of negative video games. While presenting an overview of Screen Addiction, Mrs.Leema Thomas, Psychologist and Student Counsellor, Alagappa University, said that unfortunately the Screen Addiction could affect people of all age-groups and enumerated the serious symptoms associated with it. Disruption in performing one‟s normal work and also difficulty in carrying out ordinary duties and family responsibilities are the two major signs indicating this addiction, she added. The affected person shows a feeling of overwhelming helplessness and anxiety when an attempt is made to stop the screen usage. And the person develops “poor impulse control” By providing Behavioral Therapy, Motivational Support, Family Therapy and Counselling, this addiction could be set right. She said the first phase of treatment should begin with slow withdrawal and digital fasting and then they must be encouraged to take to some hobbies such as reading, gardening, cycling, etc., and to spend more time with family and friends.

In the second session Prof.J.Frank Ruben Jebaraj, of the American College, , Isolated on the situational factors in Screen Addiction and explained with examples how the human behavior and changes could affect day-to-day way of life. In the third session, Prof.J.John Jeyakamaraj, Department of Computer Science, the American College, Madurai spoke on the impact of Screen Addiction on academic performance of students. He said this addiction affected the students by leading. Dr.S.Poul Punitha, Assistant Professor, Centre for Women‟s Studies delivered vote of thanks. More than 260 Participants from Universities students were participated in the symposium.

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