The Claretian Missionaries joined the celebration of International Women’s Day 2022 with the theme “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow.” The topic means that the human family can become complete only when gender equality is realized. The Daughters of the Holy and Immaculate – Heart of Mary Cordimarian Filiation (HICM) prepared a prayer reflection and was made available to the different Claretian communities as well as to the public.

To promote gender reciprocity and gender equality, celebrations have been held in various Claretian Provinces. In Chennai Province, Fr. Susaimanickam, CMF, the Principal of St. Claret’s Higher Secondary School at Karumathur (Tamil Nadu, India) informed that their school honored the women members of their staff and the girl students, by organizing events that created sensitivity on the gender parity. All the male members of staff and the boy students took an oath to practice gender equality at home and to be grateful for their mothers.

Fr. Maria Joseph, CMF, the Provincial Secretary of Chennai, said that Claret Aham at Sambai (Tamil Nadu, India), organized a workshop for the empowerment of women in which the members of Marudham Magalir Mandram (Women Group) and Thendral Mahalir Mandram (Group of widows) participated. These rural women depend for their livelihood on cattle raising. Hence, they were given training on livestock rearing without the infectious disease.

In the Province of Colombia Oriental-Ecuador, Fr. Enrique Aponte, CMF, said that there were celebrations in three of their mission posts. In la Unidad Educativa Claretiana and la Escuela Claretiana la Presentacion at Guayaquil (Ecuador) the women members of staff were honored, dignified, and thanked for being the gift of life to the society.

The women serving at their Provincial Curia were honored and thanked for their services at the Curia and to humanity. Without women, the society world will miss the softness and fragrance like those of the flowers.

Fr. Mario Zalki, CMF of Bangalore Province, on the other hand, reports that the Project Vision Rural Eye Care Campus, Gowribidanur (Karnataka, India) celebrated Women’s Day by honoring and acknowledging the services of women representatives of the fields of Law, Village Governance, Health, Accredited Social Health Activist program (ASHA) and Village Rehabilitation. They all resolved Collectively We All #BreakTheBias.

(Update from Fr. Vincent Anes, CMF, JPIC General Secretary)