On 8 March 2019, the Study Hall Educational Foundation organized a panel discussion on the occasion of International Women’s Day. The topic of this discussion was ‘Why the status of women in India is not a major election agenda’. This was held as part of annual India’s Daughters’ Campaign that Study Hall Educational Foundation conducts.
On this occasion, the guest Juhi Singh, spokesperson, Samajwadi Party, Rakesh Tripathi, spokesperson, Bhartiya Janta Party, Sadaf Jafar, spokesperson and Farah, member of Sheroes Hangout cafe were present and they discussed the topic.

The program started with the introduction of our esteemed guests. The discussion started with a very strong question asked by a Prerna Girls School student, Sapna Bharti. She asked, “I am a first-time voter. I want to ask why should I vote for a political party which does not have gender equality as a major issue on their manifesto?” The students continued to ask questions and our guests answered them.

In this discussion, Sadaf Jafar, spokesperson, Congress, said, “We must rise beyond political differences and collectively fight against structural violence that women face.” She also advised students, to read the manifesto of the party before voting and give the vote to a party which they think will help to build a better nation.

Juhi Singh, spokesperson, Samajwadi Party said, “We make event-based political agenda and we accept that. We will try and work on it. I see confident young women here who are capable of becoming strong political leaders in the future and I hope we will have more participation of women in politics in the future”.

Rakesh Tripathi, spokesperson, Bhartiya Janta Party, said, “women should stop believing they are weak and raise voice against the small issues they face, then only we can change the society”.

On this occasion, the parents of Prerna Girls School were also invited. For the last six years, the Aarohini Initiative organizes yearly India’s Daughters’ campaign that focuses on gender empowerment issues with the goal of raising awareness in the community about gender discrimination.

The program was concluded with the felicitation of the mothers of Prerna Girls School students and vote of thanks.