Dear Friends,

Gender equality – the term does sound familiar to most of us, but we really to ponder with serious thought. Till today, in our Indian households, the male child is very often

Treated as superior to a female child.
We have heard the famous lyric
A son is a son till he gets his wife
But a daughter is a daughter – ALL her life.

This happens in most cases, but yet we crave to have sons more than daughters. It is we women who have to change this notion, this idea and this myth, by teaching our children to be equal. They have to be inculcated with these values at a young age to make the radical change.

Thomas Jefferson had rightly said  “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit to happiness.”

We all have the right to be happy – and it is upto us to work towards this goal.  

In this issue Women Vision brings to you a well known educationist and a visionary – who with her foresight and determination has made a great contribution to the world of women. Having been the former Principal of the very well known School for Social Work – Roshini Nilaya in Mangalore and associated with a number of women organizations all around India, Dr. Olinda Pereira  is a indeed a name to reckon with.  She is a true embodiment of selfless sacrifice and commitment to her work and inspite her age (79 years) she still gives of her time and efforts to women and the elderly in particular. 

Dr. Olinda Pereira was born on the glorious feast of Assumption day and later our Independence Day – 15th August 1925. 

She did her M. A. and later did her B.T. and PhD. Speak of Dr. Olinda Pereira and one would picture her only as a pioneer in the field of education or women empowerment. Always engrossed in her work, she has the will and the way to serve Humanity.  Her special interests are in the Women’s development and one can see that from the numerous associations she has associated herself with.  She has been the School Assistant at St. Mary’s High School and was earlier the Principal of School of Social Work Roshni Nilaya, Mangalore. She is also the Director of the Institute of Social Service, Prabhat Tara, in New Delhi and her love for the Elderly has encouraged her to start and be the Director, Vishwas Trust (Home Based Care for the Elderly) which is rendering yeoman service to the elderly. 

Talk about her contribution to women and it would definitely run into volumes. Being a silent worker, she believes in helping without acclaim. Even to profile her on this website did take me a long time to convince her to give her details and after much reluctance, she gave me just a brief skeleton of the vast work she is involved in. However it was my good fortune to work with her during my years in Mangalore at the Shubadha Society.

One very notable feature of her contributions to the Catholic Women of India is that she was instrumental in organizing the Council of Catholic Women of India.  This has been a great move and has helped the catholic women of India to come together under one forum to discuss the pressing issues that pertain to women development and also interacts with the world body of International Catholic Women (WUCWO).

Dr. Olinda Pereira has been responsible for developing a syllabus in Women’s Studies in the M.S.W. Course and for attempting to set up a Women’s Studies Centre.

True to her commitment, she wishes every women march forward to progress. Says Dr. Olinda Pereira “Work towards education and self-empowerment and become self reliant and equal partners with men

Yes women, we need inspiration from such pioneers like Dr. Olinda Pereira