Your Voice in association with the
PRO office, Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) organized a women’s literary festival “Raise Your Voice”at Delhi’s Jamia
Millia Islamia. The one day festival started with an inaugural ceremony
followed by a panel discussion on “the role of poetry and literature in women’s
emancipation” with Arfa Khannum Shervani, Anusha Rizvi, Aditi Maheshwari, Dr.
Meher Fatima as the panelists and Garima Dutt as the moderator. Notable
musician Vidya Shah was the guest of honour and Mr. A.P. Siddiqui (IPS),
Registrar, Jamia Millia Islamia was the chief guest for the occasion. Another
event “Kalaam-E-Khawateen”, a poetry event by women poets including
Gayethri Mehta, Rupam and Tehmeena got overwhelming response from the
audience. Student Social Entrepreneur
Ishhita Singh and Para-Shooting World Silver medalist Pooja Aggarwal inspired
the audience by sharing their inspirational stories.
It was the first
of its kind and was attended by around ten thousand people. It was an attempt to mark the upcoming
International Women’s Day. The purpose of this one day festival was to
celebrate extraordinary acts of courage, determination and achievements of
women. This fest a mix of culture, inspiring stories, drama, poetry and Sufi
singing. An open mic was also organised for women to come and share their
journeys and experiences through slam poetry. Food stalls with mouth-watering
delicacies and handicraft stalls became
a major attraction of the event.
RJ Sayema’s
session on “Manto Ki Kahani” wooed the hearts of the audience while a stage
play led by the Shilpi Marwaha’s Sukhmanch moved the audience to tears. The day
ended with an energetic Sufi evening
with the coke studio singer Dhruv Sangari.
