Events
WAOW Events
Upcoming Event
WAOW Warrior Awards 2021-22
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Past Events
WAOW Warrior Awards 2020-21
Delhi, 6th March 2021- On the occasion of and to celebrate International Women’s Day, the World Association of Women Warriors (WAOW), organized the prestigious Warrior Awards 2020-21 at a glittering ceremony at JW Marriot, Aerocity, Delhi. The first Warrior Awards in India by WAOW, which is a global organization working towards delivering United Nations SDG-5 goals and have members spread across continents, had several firsts on its list.
The Chief Guest, the First female IPS, Dr. Kiran Bedi, Ex LG Puducherry, was all praises for the Awardees and emphatic on their journey, she said, “WAOW have meticulously chosen merito rious women for the Warrior Awards, women who have courageously made their position in the society and now are inspiring many others to do so… this is the cycle of life!” She also said that this was the first and the only event she had accepted to physically attend after almost 18 months and that she was happy about her decision.
The Chief Guest, the First female IPS, Dr. Kiran Bedi, Ex LG Puducherry, was all praises for the Awardees and emphatic on their journey, she said, “WAOW have meticulously chosen merito rious women for the Warrior Awards, women who have courageously made their position in the society and now are inspiring many others to do so… this is the cycle of life!” She also said that this was the first and the only event she had accepted to physically attend after almost 18 months and that she was happy about her decision.
The Guests of Honor, Dr. Prerna Kohli, is the first Clinical Psychologist ever honored by the President of India. A 4-time gold-medallist she has been working in the domain of mental health for over 20 years, working with top International organizations & Institutions while concurrently working with the underprivileged sections of the society. She emphasized, “Women warriors who are being awarded here have chosen to challenge their circumstances and this should influence other women too.” She also passionately asked everyone to remove the stigma around mental health. The Guests of Honor, Ruma Devi, Nari Shakti Awardee by the President of India, Ambassador -Tribe India, and president of GVCS, Barmer which has more than 23,000 active women artisans members. Ruma Devi said the need of the hour at grassroots is first to “Beti Bachao” and then turn them into warriors by “Beti Padhao” She elaborated that through GVCS she would be giving financial support for these causes. She also launched an online store for the rural artisans – rumadevi.com
The Guests of Honor, Dr. Prerna Kohli, is the first Clinical Psychologist ever honored by the President of India. A 4-time gold-medallist she has been working in the domain of mental health for over 20 years, working with top International organizations & Institutions while concurrently working with the underprivileged sections of the society. She emphasized, “Women warriors who are being awarded here have chosen to challenge their circumstances and this should influence other women too.” She also passionately asked everyone to remove
the stigma around mental health. The Guests of Honor, Ruma Devi, Nari Shakti Awardee by the President of India, Ambassador -Tribe India, and president of GVCS, Barmer which has more than 23,000 active women artisans members. Ruma Devi said the need of the hour at grassroots is first to “Beti Bachao” and then turn them into warriors by “Beti Padhao” She elaborated that through GVCS she would be giving financial support for these causes. She also launched an online store for the rural artisans – rumadevi.com
The Guests of Honor, Ira Singhal, the first differently-abled IAS topper and the brand ambassador for the Department of Disability, MoSJE, Government of India. She said that, as warriors, one should not let the challenges stop one from achieving their dreams. She commended every Warrior Awardee for their strength and conviction. The Guests of Honor, Her Excellency Ambassador Grace Akello. High Commissioner of the Republic of Uganda in India, was very appreciative to know that WAOW is working with women at the grassroots globally and said her journey as a tribal woman from upcountry Uganda to being a warrior facing and winning over challenges to now proudly representing her people and country across the world. She shared her journey and her work as an author with all those present.
One of the first in-person niche events post COVID-19 attended by 80+ known and prominent women, not just from NCR but other states as well. Warrior Awards also had messages from other International WAOW Warriors. With over 30 prominent and meritorious awardees, predominantly from India.
The prestigious list of Warrior Awardees included the likes of captain Zoya Agarwal, Dr. Rita Jairath, Lieut Dr. Rita Gangwani, Ms. Pallavi Singh, Sajida Nadeem. Vineeta Bhatia, Bhavna Singh, Prof. Anu Singh Lather… while simultaneously celebrating the grassroots warriors from smaller cities like Dr. Sharmila Pandey, Nishi Gupta, Leena, and Shahana Bibi.
WAOW doyen and director, Shahwar Shohrat, said that the Warrior awards were instituted to recognize and celebrate women warriors who have lived a transformational journey for themselves and are making a difference to the women in their communities. WOAW directors, Shalabh Saigal and Mamta Godiyal were instrumental in curating such a diverse and meritorious list of Awardees from more than 350 nominations. Mamta said that with the success of these Awards, WAOW is already excited about the next Awards, which will be done in Dubai in 2022 with International Awardees.
International Youth Day
Consistent with UN General Assembly’s endorsement to organize public events to encourage youth and raise awareness about the concerns of the youth, WAOW (World Association of Women Warriors) organized an International virtual event on “International Youth Day” on 12th August, 2021. The event shed light on major challenges confronted by the youth and involved youth leaders who articulated their views through this platform.
This virtual event was held in presence of WAOW trustees Ms Shahwar Shohrat, Ms Mamta Godiyal & Mr Shalabh Saigal and spanned two rounds of discussions Courage to Change” and “Rising feMenist” which shed light on various global issues related to youth. Guest of honor for the discourse was Captain Zoya Agarwal which was moderated by Dr Seema and Ms Habeeba; The speakers who graced the occasion were -Ms/s Modika, Ojaswi, Shoa, Nino, Batool,Areeza, Shivansh, Paridhi and Maryam.
Just to reiterate – “WAOW” is driven by core tenets of multifaceted enablement of Women encompassing segments like education, security, health & hygiene entrepreneurship, self reliance and much more. This foundation with global leanings strives to provide a platform wherein these goals can be pursued in right earnest consistent with “Sustainable Development goal # 5” as laid down by United Nations charter in 2015.
Menstrual Hygiene Day
In many parts of the world, the concept of menstruation is still looked down upon. Many people still consider it to be ‘impure’. This results in a lot of discrimination and ostracization of the women. We are aware research led to the discovery that it’s important to address not just the girls & women, but also the external stakeholders & environment around the girl; to ensure she can talk about her periods, ask questions, seek answers, live comfortable without stigma & grow up to be more confident. Break the silence around menstruation & make it loud & clear not just for the girl but also the people around her like her parents, friends, relatives, colleagues.
Important for people to know that it is nothing but a natural process. It is the sign of a healthy woman and there is nothing dirty about it. Keeping that in mind, the World Menstrual Hygiene Day plays an important role and we at WAOW are glad to part of this Red Dot Campaign.
Coming together to spread awareness about the same, it should be done not just in the rural areas, but in our own households as well. A conversation should be struck at a young age with the daughters so that they have an idea about what menstruation is and it is very normal to go through it.
Together we can make the difference and create the better and acceptable world for women. This Pandemic impact on menstrual health and hygiene.
Lockdowns, closed borders, shuttered businesses the coronavirus pandemic has a far-reaching consequences for many people, including menstruating women. Here are 6 facts about periods in the coronavirus pandemic:
- Menstrual supplies are essential items Economic disruptions can lead to women and girls losing access to hygiene products, These include sanitary pads and tampons, menstrual cups, reusable napkins, pain medication and soap. Solution: Governments must ensure these items be declared essential and remain available.
- Access to menstrual hygiene products for people in quarantine It is difficult for patients in hospitals and in quarantine to obtain menstrual hygiene products, according to UNICEF.
Solution: Those in charge must address the potential loss of access by ensuring adequate supplies. The healthcare staff need to be trained to sensitively meet these needs.
- Health workers, too, need menstrual health supplies. Around 70 per cent of healthcare workers are women. To effectively respond to the pandemic, they work long hours under intense pressure. Not only do they need access to menstrual hygiene materials, but also the time and the resources to manage their menstrual health. This is. particularly important for front-line health workers who wear personal protective equipment (PPE). Putting on and removing PPE prevents the quick changing of menstrual hygiene materials, leading women to bleed into protective suits, suppress menstruation through the use of oral contraceptive pills, or potentially miss days of work.
- Poverty makes it harder to access menstrual hygiene supplies People living in poverty already face barriers to obtaining menstrual hygiene supplies and related health services. With stores and public transport closing, rising costs and increasing economic uncertainty, they are now facing even bigger hurdles. Media reports suggest that women are forced to prioritize food and water to personal care items.
- Coronavirus threatens the rights and health of vulnerable people who mens truate Gender inequality, extreme poverty, humanitarian crises and harmful traditions can turn periods into a time of deprivation and stigma. These vulnerabilities are only increasing under the pandemic.
- Rumors about menstruation As education and health services have been disrupted, so has the flow of basic information about menstrual health and hygiene.
Solution: There’s a need for new and creative ways to educate people about menstruation, to dispel rumors and spread positive, accurate information.
Every year on May 28, non-governmental organizations, government agencies, the private sector, the media, and individuals come together to celebrate Menstrual Hygiene Day (MH Day) and highlight the importance of good menstrual hygiene management (MHM). World Menstrual Hygiene Day 2021 still following same theme as ‘Periods in Pandemic’. The idea behind choosing this theme is to highlight how the challenges faced by women during menstruation have worsened due to the ongoing pandemic.
Let’s join hands to spread awareness #WorldMenstrualHygiene Day
She the Warrior
Aligarh – 4th April, 2021 World Association of Women Warriors (WAOW) in association with Dr. Zakir Husain Foundation. Aligarh held an event on the theme of women health and safety, “She, the Warrior’ at Jamia Urdu College of Education.
WAOW is a global organization working towards delivering United Nations SDG-5 goals and have members spread across the world. Its primary goal re volves round multifaceted enablement of women spanning dimensions like Education, Security. Entrepre- neurship, and Self-Reliance.
“She, the warrior” therefore was held to drive awareness of menstrual hygiene and women safety as these continue to be among the most challenging areas to address within the developing countries. Not only do deep-rooted taboos and myths create the illusion that menstruation is inherently shameful or dirty, a matter of human rights. poor menstrual hy giene negatively impacts the education, health and economic potential of girls and women. 88% of rural areas women use old fabric, rags and in some tribal areas they still use sand to manage their flow.
The event was graced by Mr. Rakesh K. Malpani, IAS. ADM City Aligarh as Chief Guest. The Guests of Honor included Ms. Suman, DSP CO Barla, Dr. Farhat Ali Khan, OSD Jamia Urdu. The hundreds of women present were also addressed by Dr. Firdos Jahan, Clinical Psychologist. A Taekwondo demonstration led by Asrar Ahmad of Aligarh Taekwondo Academy was also done to highlight the need for women to learn basic self-defense. Speaking on the occasion Ms.Shahwar Shohrat. Director WAOW said that there is a need for women to be self-aware for her health and security. Ms. Mamta Godiyal, Director WADW also emphasized on the need for women to take care of themselves and then extending the help to others. Ms. Sajida Nadeem, Director of Hussain Foundation. Aligarh said that her foundation was hon ored to work along with a global organization to raise this much required awareness in Aligarh and that such drives would continue to empower women locally. The event was supported by Scope for Change organization. India Talent Treasure Trust.Feminy. Al Madaar Herbs, Mangrove, Organic Shine. MG Warriors and Safar.
Still in 20th century, women or her way of dressing is held responsible for her safety : Raising voice against abuse and self-defense awareness is minimal
Disclaimer: Entry was only basis of prior registration and health conditions of the attendees were checked.
War Within
25th Sep 2020: Women at Work, A war within WAOW organized a global program on women empowerment and entrepreneurship. The theme for the program was “Women at Work – The War Within” It had participation of 100+ women from more than a dozen countries.
The speakers included prominent women empowerment activists – Iram Majid (IN), Monica Mastrantonio (UK), Dr. Satnam Deuchakar (UK), Prema Mookaram (MU), & Helvecia Takwe (CM). They shared amazing journeys and inspiring thoughts with the participants. There was participation from countries like India, France, Mauritius, Kenya Cameroon, and Italy. The session was rated and moderated by Ms. Shahwar Shohrat, along with Ms. Mamta Godiyal and Shalabh Saigal. The session concluded with the thought that the journey of women across the world is similar and the challenges can be overcome with mutual support however the first war to win is within her own self.
4 Fs- Previous event
10th Dec 2020: Feathers for Fearless Flight – WAOW organized a global event to address one of the core agenda of UN-75, “Women Safety and Education”. WAOW has been actively engaged in women empowerment.
The prominent speakers, for the event, centered around women security and its importance in the modern society, were Brig (Dr.) Vijay Sagar Dheman and Ms. Chrissy Sykes. Both the prominent speakers discussed the challenges and insights on women security, especially the girl child and teenagers. The extensive experience which both the speakers have and with divergent yet relevant pers pectives they were able to enlighten the audience though the thou ght-provoking session.
Collaborative Awareness
Delegate Meeting
International Events
Menstrual Absorbents and Health Care product distribution by WAOW Directors
