Women’s Day celebrations at Our Lady the Healer Church, Karumandapam

By Robancy A Helen, Tiruchirappalli

Puthupunal (Fresh water) is a women’s wing of Our Lady the Healer in Karumandapam, Tiruchirappalli Tamil Nadu. It has been involved in gender equality in building the kingdom of God.

The women’s group was started in 2019 with the aim for gender equality. Commemorating the International Women’s Day on March 8, the women group celebrated their seventh anniversary of its genesis.

This year the celebration was organized on March 9, 2025 at the Provincial House of Francis Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Sr. Robancy A Helen was the chief guest of the celebration.

International Women’s Day is celebrated to remember the struggles of the working women in New York in 1908 and it is a day of victory over struggle for the rights. Women need to be educated, to break the superstitious beliefs which make us have an inferiority complex.

Women need to rise above and voice for the voiceless women.  It is education which gives the power to establish gender – equality. Do not resist domestic violence.

She also emphasized the major role of E.V. Ramasamy who is also known as Periyar and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar who fought for women’s rights socially and legally. The Tamil women should be proud of their identity as the land has given them more power in women empowerment than the other states in Tamil Nadu.

Women are not the enemy of women. We need to fight back against this statement as it is a false propaganda spread to weaken the unity of women.

The women should be mindful of the societal norms that enslave them and support eradicating these practices.

Sister Helen also gave them some solutions to fight against the social customs and stand united.

Fr. Arulanandham, the parish priest, and Sr. Fatima, the coordinator of Puthupunal delivered the felicitation address and spoke on the commercial use of women and the need to fight against it.

The women pledged to establish gender equality in the parish activities.

A group of 50 women gather every month to talk about women’s issues and highlight women’s leadership. They also share the success stories of the powerful women in history and motivate the other women. They also talk about spirituality and self-growth.

Then visit the destitute women and give counseling to them. They have also helped Ratha, a visually impaired woman, to build a house.

The program was coordinated by Jessy Rani, the president and the office bearers of Puthupunal.