Wishing all women out there a very happy Women’s Day!

Greetings to the reader!

Welcome to another edition of our WTM Bi-monthly Newsletter.

We want to focus on the contributions of females, rather than the imbalances they face. It is safe to say that this bulletin is by the women, for the community.

In the March edition, we will emphasise some of the most influential women in history who have made noteworthy contributions to society. The United Nations Women’s theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is “gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow”.

Sustainable development is a global issue affecting all tiers of society and all lifeforms on this planet. Over the last few years, we glimpsed real climate change, like when it was revealed that 2019 was the second hottest year in the century and a half. Although, the pandemic offered the world a much-required hiatus reducing pollution and greenhouse emissions as reported by NASA while being equally catastrophic. This also made us take in the importance of a sustainable future for our future generations.

The consequences of fleeting development are undisguised including flora and fauna extinction, overpopulation, the decline in health, and worsening living conditions of a community.

Tapering off global concerns, if we keep in view our county, we acquired a rank of 120, which has dipped by 3 positions on Sustainable Development Goals by the United Nations. Major areas where we need to improve are — our health, wellbeing, economy, gender equality, use of even more sustainable resources and so on.

Contributing at a global level might be a tough job, but we can still work on contributing towards sustainable development inculcating healthy habits in our daily lives. It can go as far as exercising, meditating, eating healthy food to improve our emotional and mental wellbeing to donating, recycling and reusing old items to promote sustainable use of resources. Furthermore, plantation drives and similar social initiatives run a mile too.

Although, for thousands of women in Ukraine and Russia, this month has been rugged. They are losing their sons, daughters, husbands, wives and families to the war. We would also like to pay tribute to them and draw inspiration from their bravery. A lot of 18–22-year-olds have been placing their lives on the line to save their country and get the freedom they deserve. They are the real heroes today.

The women who are not directly affected by the war are talking about how they would react in that situation. A lot of them have already gotten involved in the revolution themselves. Some have even lost their lives in the process.

But these narratives are not as well known as those of the soldiers and activists who participate in the revolution. The tales of these women ought to be told because they are encouraging and reassuring. They show us what it means to be human and that we all can make a difference in our way.

With this, let us move on to the upcoming stories.

With Warm regards,

Ishika Kulkarni

GDSC Lead