WEST - WOMEN EMPOWERMENT AND SOCIAL TRAINING 2020/21...

 Womanhood is not an easy battle; from undergoing a plethora of opinions and restrictions since a girl draws her first breath, a woman’s life is instantaneously categorized into a specific rubric on how she should live her life. Despite many modern-day women prioritizing themselves and pursuing their careers, many are held back by the demanding patriarchy and even by their own families to follow the “traditional” roles and mannerisms of a women – becoming a docile homemaker. The workforce itself can become a battle, for a gender-based wage gap and the  subjection to various forms of gender inequality still prevail. Therefore Project “WEST –Women Empowerment and Social Training”, organized by the LEO Club of Sri Lanka Technological Campus, strives to shed light on these issues and provide a platform for women’s empowerment for the Leo Ladies of Multiple District 306 and appreciate their talents and personalities.   

WEST, which is currently underway since the August of 2020, consists of two phases, namely the online and physical stages; the Grand Finale of this project will be held physically in the April of 2021. The project’s main approach is the WEST competition where its participants are judged on five categories – Most Talented Woman, Most Popular Leo, Most Intelligent Woman, Leo Beauty Queen and Miss Strongest Leo; the submission period was ended in the December 2020 and over one hundred submissions from talented and empowered Leo ladies under all five categories were received duly. The judging of the said submissions have been subsequently finalized and is results would be released in the following weeks to come. In addition to this competition, WEST also offers three other sub categories, namely Voice with WEST, Write to WEST and Talk with WEST. Under the category Write to WEST, around 20 articles have been garnered and published in the official SLTC LEO Facebook Page.

The second category Voice to WEST consists of an online trilingual speech competition which has been initiated since the January of 2021 and whose proceedings are underway in the month of March – in this competition participants are required to converse on topics ranging from women abuse to gender inequality. In addition to these initiatives, as a tribute to International Women’s Day, a webinar curated by the spokesperson Mrs. Kumudini Jayathilake was held on the 11th of March 2021 at 6:00pm via Zoom. Addressing an enthusiastic audience, the guest speaker discussed in great detail on the daily challenges a woman faces in her life and how empowerment can build her strength and brevity and give her the support to face the battle of life; she also stated that today’s patriarchal norms must change and acknowledge a woman for the roles she play and the influence she spreads in her presence. Undoubtedly, the said webinar was showered with an abundance of positive feedback.

Overall, it can be stated that Project WEST is a powerful movement in appreciating the wonders of a women’s personality and raising awareness in what she faces. It is an outstanding platform for women to showcase their prowess, stand up for what they believe is right and make a difference to society’s aspects.