On the occasion of the International Women’s Day, Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (IGRMS) organised a special programme, ‘Shashwati-2015’. The day-long programme commenced with popular lecture by Jarjum Ete from Arunachal Pradesh on “Efforts of the Tribal Women of North East India towards Political leadership: Cases from Patriarchal Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland”.
The lecture was chaired by Prof Rekha Singhal, Professor, IIFM Bhopal. Earlier, Joint Director Arun Kumar Shrivastava gave brief outline about Women’s Day celebration. Director, IGRMS, Prof Sarit Kumar Choudhuri in his address, gave brief description about works of Jarjum Ete. Ete commenced her lecture with clearing the myths about Arunachal Pradesh. She gave her whole lecture in Hindi and told that Hindi is in use among 25 different tribes of Arunachal. Speaking of Manav Sangrahalaya, she said the houses of Nagaland and Arunachal in IGRMS best describe the social status of women of aforesaid States.
Ete is a social activist, a prominent public figure and a vanguard for the cause of child and women in the State of Arunachal Pradesh. At an all India level, she has been part of several campaigns and movements around the issues of women’s rights, forest rights and struggle for justice. She was the first chairperson of the Arunachal Pradesh State Commission on Women. Presently, she is Chief Advisor of the Galo Welfare Society, the executive body of her tribe’s apex council, the Galo Baanv Kvba.
She is also heading the All Indian Union of Forest Working People as its President apart from being involved with women and children’s rights organisations in the State, region and the national level. Meanwhile, IGRMS in continuation to its popular series of ‘Exhibit of the Month’ exhibits one specific object on the dais. In the same series for the month of March, 2015, the ‘Exhibit of the Month’ is “Toperi- A bridal head ornament” that was inaugurated jointly by Director, IGRMS Sarit K Chaudhury, and Jarjum Ete at Veethi Sankul of IGRMs on Sunday.