Department of Women's Studies

Innovative Initiatives

Initiation of Gender Clubs in Colleges to promote gender sensitivity among students

Gender Fest programmes every year to involve the students to promote gender equality messages through various cultural programmes

Honouring Women Achievers including grass root women on March 8th, International Working Women’s Day every year

Driving Classes in the University Campus to facilitate the staff and students to learn driving within the campus and promote their mobility

Adolescent Counselling Programme for fresher in Engineering Colleges

Adolescent counselling to Schools students to face the future challenges and awareness on scientific approach towards their biological changes and sex and sexuality

Promotion of Menstrual Hygiene Managment Programme through Sanitary Napkin Campaign in Schools by providing Napkin in Vending Machines and also distribution of sanitary napkin by women entrepreneurs at an affordable rate Gender Orientation programmes for School, College Teachers, grass root population

Gender orientation and TOT to WS students, NGO co-ordinator and other Centres

Summer Placement for WS students in suitable organisations and also placement of other department students in various organisations, promotion of qualified women in household sector to take up university employment on a temporary basis.

Initiation of Women Entrepreneurs Association of Tamil Nadu to promote aspiring women entrepreneurs in non traditional areas of entrepreneurship.

Training WS and other Social Science Students in Street Theatre, Street Play, Videography etc. Screening of Documentary films and films by Women Directors

Students developed Documentary cookies

Disseminating the Lab Experiments to the community

SHG Retail Outlet through DRDA funding

SHG mobile Marketing in College Campuses

University Land as Model Farm for Herbal cultivation for SHG

Gender Sensitization

Gender awareness is the first stage to make the population understand the difference between gender and sex as sociological and biological respectively and made aware of that gender differences are social made and are not natural. The second stage is to get sensitised so that they would work further, on creating awareness, understanding the need forgender equality.

Gender Study Circle

The students in various affiliated colleges, Women’s Studies Department are encouraged and motivated to form a Gender Study Circle with students from other disciplines like Science, Arts and Engineering. The study circle normally meets once in a week, to discuss various issues of current and contemporary concerns including social issues, gender, class, caste, legal, politics, economics, climate change, global warming, North South Divide and related politics, racist issues, politics of media etc., which help the members to be aware of the current social issues on the one hand and build capacity to appreciate and critic as per the need. The members of this circle have succeeded in publishing a monthly magazine Thedal (Searching) for disseminating their ideas and activities to community without any financial support. They are encouraged to bring out the e-copy to the university website also.

Gender Clubs in Colleges

This is a unique initiative of the Department of Women’s Studies in which University affiliated colleges are approached to form a gender club including both boys and girls as members, ignite them to participate in gender mainstreaming dialogues, fest, workshops, film screening and contribute newsletters etc., The gender volunteers of the colleges are given gender sensitivity training periodically in order to be aware of the contemporary developments in the feminist and mainstream thinking and inculcate and promote the spirit towards gender equality among the youth.

Gender Fest

The gender club members of various colleges are given a platform to exhibit their views on gender equality through various forms of performing arts such as skit, dance, music, cooking and rangoli (exclusively for boys), mime, drawing,elocution, essay writing etc., with an objective of making the gender club members participative and committed in gendered thoughts and actions. All the participants are invited and appreciated with certificates and prizes on March 8th, the International Working Women’s Day. The objective is to make the youth critically think on gender unequal status in the society and promote strategies to eliminate the same through performing arts to reach the public easily.

Honoring Women Achievers including grass root women on March 8th

Department of Women’s Studies have been honoring women achievers in all the fields every year on the International Women’s Day Celebration since 2006 particularly to honour the women from grassroots who are hardly recognised. During 2009 Women Achievers Award was given to differently able persons. Dr. K. Radha Bai (Pudukottai District), Thirumigu. Kalaiyarasi (Tiruchirappalli District), Thirumigu. Amutha Shanthi (Madurai District) and Thirumigu. Jothimani (Namakkal District) were honoured with “Vetri Penmani -2009”. Three of them shared their experiences and how they overcame the challenges in their life during the International Women’s day Celebration on March 8, 2009.