BJP Yuva Morcha to start gender sensitisation campaign

After holding scores of protests and rallies across the country, members of BJP's youth wing have decided to embark on an apolitical agenda of educating and spreading awareness among college students about women's rights and how to fight atrocities against them.
On December 16, the first anniversary of the heinous gang rape in the capital, BJP Yuva Morcha chief Anurag Thakur and some close associates will begin the campaign 'HOW - Honour Our Women' with a seminar in Delhi on growing cases of sexual crimes against women and how this can dealt with.
"This will be an apolitical initiative throughout. We are inviting Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley and also Congress MP Shashi Tharoor as well as editors for the seminar. Youth with different ideologies can join us in the programme under which we will reach out to 1,000 colleges across the country by March, 2014," Thakur told PTI.

He rued that while the media had been giving a lot of space to the debate on the Supreme Court order banning gay sex, there was not much discussion on the challenges faced by women, who form 50 per cent of the population.
His team plans to make a short documentary on the measures suggested by politicians like Jaitley, Tharoor, as well as professionals like doctors, lawyers, police, NGOs, psychiatrists and others on gender sensitisation, domestic violence and fighting back exploitation by employers, especially in corporate houses and the media.
Along with seminars and interactions of college students with experts and politicians, Thakur and his team will also discuss issues like how women can fight against incest, foeticide, female infanticide, harassment and rape.

Once the programme takes off, Thakur plans to start a helpline for women who are in distress or facing problems in lodging FIRs and so on.
"We will also emphasise that all organisations implement the Vishaka guidelines on prevention of sexual harassment at the workplace," Thakur said.