SHILLONG: A faux pas in the banner announcing celebration of International Women’s Day by the East Khasi Hills District Social Welfare Office led to confusion and disappointment on Thursday morning.
The huge banner outside the entrance of the State Central Library mentioned the programme time as 9 am while the schedule said it was 10.45 am-12.
Students, a few employees of the department and reporters were in for a surprise when they reached U Soso Tham Auditorium, the venue of the programme, in the morning and were told that the time was wrong.
The celebration, which was organised a week after the world celebrated
Women’s Day, started late at 11.24am.
NGOs lauded
The theme for Women’s Day this year was ‘Time is Now: Rural and Urban Activists Transforming Women’s Lives’.
Speaking to the gathering during her inaugural speech, Director of Social Welfare RM Kurbah said in sync with the theme, “the day calls for all of us to be social activists for the cause of women”.
She lauded local NGOs who show the courage to stand against the atrocities meted out to women. She called for starting women’s empowerment from home and said that sons and brothers should be educated to treat women with respect and dignity.
