Subject: PETITION TO WITHDRAW THE GOLDEN MOTHER AWARD BY CALICUT UNIVERSITY To: cashewsalamvc@gmail Dear Professor Abdul Salam, Please find our Collective Petition below signed by 56 persons who are active in the field of womens studies urging you to withdraw the Golden Mother Award. Petition to Withdraw the ‘Golden Mother’ Award by the University of Calicut To Prof. M. Abdul Salam, Vice-Chancellor, University of Calicut Members of the Syndicate, University of Calicut The University of Calicut has recently announced the institution of a ‘Golden Mother Award,’ with the stated objective of highlighting “the contribution of mothers to societal development and nation building and to provide exemplary models to youngsters.” Mothers in the age group of 50+ and who are actively contributing to their domains of service will be considered for awards in eighteen categories such as Art, Literature, Teaching, Social work, Politics, Administration, Media, Sports, Agriculture, Entrepreneurship, Engineering, Medicine, Research, Law and judiciary, Police and Banking, Nominations from educational institutions, trade unions, LSGIs, NGOs and other organizations or from individuals themselves are to be submitted to the Director, Centre for Women’s Studies at the University. Firstly, this attempt to glorify motherhood is blatantly patriarchal, anti-woman, anti-democratic and a move that pulls society back to the mores of a traditional morality. It implies that a woman’s place is at home and that her principal responsibility (and hers alone) is giving birth to children and rearing them. It pays little heed to contemporary feminist critiques of motherhood as not primarily a biological destiny, one that is made problematic by conditions of poverty, deprivation and societal violence. In ignoring new forms of motherhood and parentage such as adoption, single mothers, and so on, it also upholds elitist, casteist, and patriarchal conceptions of family and womanhood. Secondly, the award is contrary to the true aspirations of Universities and institutions of higher education. Universities should be engaged in the production and dissemination of knowledge, the enlightened critique of prevailing structures of discrimination and tyranny, and the creation of futuristic values of democracy and equality. Its business is not the affirmation of conventional value systems or the reproduction of situations of inequity through dubious means such as awards and other populist measures. Thirdly, in associating it with the Centre for Women’s Studies at the University, the award has become a travesty of the very purposes and rationale of the Women’s Studies paradigm in India. It runs completely contrary to the avowed objectives of Women’s Studies such as the development of an interdisciplinary theoretical framework and a perspective to transform other disciplines from feminist perspectives, the formation of planning strategies that account for women’s particular role in the formulation of policy in establishing a just and secular society in India, the creation of scholars and activists to make more visible the issues of women from dalit, tribal, labouring, and minority religious communities, and the empowerment of women in Panchayati Raj Institutions and public institutions including universities and colleges ( see ‘UGC Guidelines for Development of Women’s Studies in Indian Universities and Colleges,’ p. 5). We understand that strenuous objections to the award have already been raised by the students and teachers of the University, as well as by the wider academic community in the State. In this context, we urge the Vice-Chancellor and the University to desist from going ahead with the Golden Mother Award and withdraw it. Sincerely,
Posted on: Thu, 05 Dec 2013 05:37:46 +0000
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