^{Forum for} Women's Studies

Profile

The viability and efficacy of the Women Cell depends heavily, we believe, on the socio-economic and demographic ambience, commitment to and agency role being played by the prospective functionaries and availability of infrastructure including networking. We are convinced that the Forum for Women's Studies of Tufanganj Mahavidyalaya is an important outreach arm to fight for the women's cause inside and outside the College. It tries to address the issues and problems of the massive number of girl students of the college, the faculty as well as the community women. 

Tufanganj Sub-Division has border with the state of Assam and more importantly, the international border with Bangladesh. The long border is not only porous but also germane for many vices like smuggling and human trafficking which have obvious bearings on Tufanganj Mahavidyalaya. The College is situated in the rural areas where people are engaged in agriculture, either marginal farmers or agricultural labourers. Thus they are mostly hail from socio-economically laggard sections. Most of them are the first generation learners.

The Forum here plays a pivotal role by providing regular guidance and mental support to them. Due to lack of awareness and appropriate intervention, the students and community women of Tufanganj suffer from gender based discrimination like eve-teasing, molestation, sexual harassment, domestic violence, dowry, child abuse, forced marriage and so on. The Forum inspires the girl students for their socio-economic upliftment and utilise their full potentials. It also tries to help the girl students in increasing their self-confidence and self-esteem. The Forum works to ensure that women's voices are heard at the highest levels and to bring about real change in women's access to law and justice. It also attempts to analyse the question of identity in maintaining their responsibility with consciousness.

^ESTD.Establishment Year 2013

Aims & Objectives

• To understand and eliminate the ideas, ethos and institutions that marginalize and ostracize women's conditions and status.
• To organizes awareness, skill and capacity building programmes to different classes of women and men.
• To collaborates with other organizations working for the cause of gender equality and women's empowerment.
• To provides consultancy to various institutions working with women and child development.
• To strengthen and disseminate information and knowledge about and for women. 
• To establish network between women, researchers, activists, NGOs and policy planners.
• To bring about the empowerment of women through teaching, research and extension activities.
• To create a space for women to come together through self-help.
• To arrest problems and vices being encountered by women and girls residing in border areas.
• To guide the girl students to understand gender as an element of socio-political economic and legal structures as well as individual identities.

^{Composition of the} Forum for Women Studies

Executive Committee

^Brief Activities

Activity - 1 : The first interactive session of the Forum for Women's Studies, Tufanganj Mahavidyalaya
The Forum for Women's Studies, Tufanganj Mahavidyalaya, held its first interactive session with the girl students of the college on 03/09/2014 in New Building Room No. 1. The session started from 2.30 pm and about 300 girl students were present in the session.
The Convener of the Forum, Smt. Sanghamitra Choudhury, highlighted the necessity and objectives of the Forum. Pamphlets highlighting the objectives of the Forum were distributed among all the students. The other speakers on the occasion were Dr. Sulekha Pandit, Dr. Amal Mandal and Prof. Dwijendra Nath Singha. Some of the girl students also shared their personal experiences and lauded the college for the formation of such a Forum where they can express their concerns and work towards the common goal of creating awareness about women's issues.

Activity - 2 : The interactive session on 'Legal Aids for Women' organized by the Forum for Women's Studies, Tufanganj Mahavidyalaya
An interactive session on 'Legal Aids for Women' was organised by the Forum for Women's Studies, Tufanganj Mahavidyalaya, on 12/09/2014. The venue was New Building Room No. 1 and the session started from 2.30 pm.
Eminent lawyers of the Tufanganj Bar Association were invited to apprise the girl students of the legal safeguards available to women. The invitees were:

1. Shri Umapada Rakshit, Advocate
2.  Shri Jitendranath Saha, Advocate and President, Governing Body, Tufanganj Mahavidyalaya
3.  Shri Ananta Barma, Advocate and Member, Governing Body, Tufanganj Mahavidyalaya
4.  Shri Sudipta Bhaduri, Advocate
5.  Shri Tanmoy Dey, Advocate
6.  Smt. Ranjana Saha, Advocate
7.  Shri Sayan Rakshit, Advocate
8.  Shri Partha Barma, Advocate

Shri Umapada Rakshit was the main speaker on the occasion and he spoke on the various aspects of legal protection for women. 
After the main speaker, students and teachers of the institution raised several questions which were answered by the invited lawyers.

Activity - 3 : The Village Level Awareness Camp on Women organized by Forum For Women's Studies, Tufanganj Mahavidyalaya
A Village Level Awareness Camp on Women was organized by the Forum For Women's Studies, Tufanganj Mahavidyalaya in collaboration with SPAR, Coochbehar on 13th February 2015. The programme was held at Chattrampur Primary School under Dhalpal –II Gram Panchayat. It was started at 2.00 pm and approximately two hundred local inhabitants were present in the programme.

Social Activists were invited to build the awareness among the men and women of the above said village. The invitees were:

1. Sri. Biman Mandal (Co-ordinator, SPAR)
2. Sri. Krishna Ch. Barman (Worker, SPAR)
3. Smt. Rumku Chaki Sarkar (Worker, SPAR)

They shared their practical and valuable experience regarding the basic day-to-day problems faced by the women such as 'migration and trafficking', 'health and security of the expectant mothers', 'child security and protection of forced marriage', 'child nutrition, growth and education', 'individual health and family hygiene', and 'domestic violence'. The other speakers on the occasion were Mrs. Dipti Barman Pradhan, Dhalpal –II Gram Panchayat; Dr. Debashis Chatterjee Principal, Tufanganj Mahavidyalaya; Dr. Harigopal Mallick Member, Governing Body; Dr. Amal Mandal Head, Dept of Political Science; Dr. Sulekha Pandit Head, Dept. of Bengali. They also tried to focus their attention on the various aspects of women's issues.

Activity - 4 : The Observation of International Women's Day Organised by Forum for Women's Studies, Tufanganj Mahavidyalaya
The International Women's Day was observed in the college on 11.03.2015 in Room No.08 from 12 noon. The programme was organised by the Forum for Women's Studies in collaboration with CHILDLINE, Cooch Behar. Smt. Mukulika Sinha, Judicial Magistrate and Secretary, District Legal Services Authority, Cooch Behar, was present as the Chief Guest and main speaker of the programme. Also present during the programme was Shri Raju Lama, BDO, Tufanganj Block I. About two hundred students from the college and nearby schools attended the programme.

Smt. Sinha spoke on the various legal safeguards for women and how to get access to them. Dr. D. Chatterjee highlighted the plight of women in contemporary times. Shri Krishna Barman, Childline worker, spoke on the problem of forced marriage and steps to prevent it. Smt S. Choudhury, Convener, Forum for Women's Studies, Tufanganj Mahavidyalaya, spoke on the importance of the observation of International Women's Day.