RSS chief Bhagwat to interact with women

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat will interact with women from various walks of life at upcoming events organised by the Vishwamangalya Sabha (VMS) in Delhi and Hyderabad later this month. The interactions will center around the theme ‘Yuganukul Matrutva’ (Contemporary Motherhood).

According to the organisers, the core deliberations will focus on critical issues faced by modern women, including work-life balance, motherhood responsibilities, and the growing impact of technological advancements. The discussions during these sessions will influence and shape the VMS’ roadmap for the next five years, they added.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, VMS national organising secretary Vrushali Joshi said the organisation’s North India meeting will be held in Delhi on July 23-24 and the South India meeting in Hyderabad on July 25-26.

Bhagwat will deliver a special address and interact with women from different walks of life in Delhi on July 24 at the Dr Ambedkar International Centre and in Hyderabad on July 26.

The Delhi event is expected to be attended by around 800-900 women from northern states, including Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal, while the Hyderabad programme will bring together participants from Maharashtra and southern states. Joshi said the organisation decided to focus on “Contemporary Motherhood — Challenges, Liabilities and Assets” after conducting discussions with around 35,000 women at conventions organised in 22 regions last year.

“The biggest concerns that emerged were how women can balance work life and the responsibilities of motherhood, and how mothers in nuclear families can give adequate attention to their children while managing their professions equally,” she said.

She said the organisation has compiled these concerns and Bhagwat will present a “solution-oriented” perspective on the issue.

“We usually discuss challenges and problems. Our effort through this programme is to move towards solutions. We want to create a social conscience so that society itself can find answers to the challenges mothers face today,” Joshi said.

Joshi said the organisation, founded in Nagpur on January 19, 2010, has been working for the past 16 years to strengthen the role of motherhood in family life.

She said the organisation believes that while women pursue professional careers after years of education and training, they also shoulder the responsibility of family life, making the role of motherhood equally significant.

“Every professional woman, whether she is a doctor, engineer, collector or entrepreneur, is first a mother when she crosses the threshold of her home. We want motherhood to become so respected that a woman introduces herself first as a mother and then by her profession,” Joshi said.

She said the organisation would formulate its activities and outreach programmes for the next five years based on the deliberations at the two meetings.

Besides the public programmes, Bhagwat will also address the organisation’s workers during closed-door meetings at the Vishva Yuvak Kendra in Delhi on July 23-24 and at Hyderabad on July 25-26.

Responding to a question on the impact of smartphones and social media on children, Joshi said technological change cannot be reversed and the focus should instead be on equipping mothers to deal with it.

“Earlier, television was considered a challenge. Today it is mobile phones and the internet. Every technological advancement brings new challenges. The answer is not to stop technology but to understand the present situation and prepare mothers to deal with it,” she said.

Asked whether the organisation favours restrictions on children’s access to social media, Joshi said it does not believe in demanding government action on such issues.

“We are a social organisation. Rather than asking the government to do everything, we believe in creating social awareness and social conscience. We prefer positive social change over making demands,” she said.

On coordination with the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Joshi said Union Minister Annapurna Devi is expected to attend the Delhi programme and the organisation would discuss issues related to motherhood with her.