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AGENDA FOR WOMEN IN THE SIKH COMMUNITY

Seminar details

The Council of Sikh Gurdwaras in Birmingham in conjunction with The Sikh Human Rights Group held a seminar for Sikh Women in the Sikh Community. The event took place on the 25th November 2006 at the Birmingham City Council, Council House.

The Agenda for the Seminar was two folds:

  • Forced Marriages
  • Female Foeticide

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The event was attended by Lord Mayor – Councillor Mike Sharpe,Lady Mayoress. and Councillor Sir Albert Bore. The main speakers of the day were Jaswant Kaur and Kirenpal Kaur from the Sikh Human Rights Group.

Jaswant Kaur the human rights co-ordnator for The Sikh Human Rights Group spoke on forced marriages, highlighting the fact that such marriages were a menace to our society and perpetuated cycles of abuse. She highlighted case studies and research undertaken by the group as well as steps that should be taken to ensure that a stop is put to such practises.


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Kiranpal Kaur of the Sikh Human Rights Group spoke on the subject of female foeticide. Kiranpal Kaur carried out field work in India and highlighted social trends that looked down upon the birth of a females, the great efforts made by families not to have a female child. She focused on the trend of sex clinics to determine the sex of foetuses and abortions that took place on a mass scale especially in Punjab.

The participants of the conference were divided into four working groups to have an in-depth discussion of the issues raised and wider issues affecting women in the Sikh community.

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The event was chaired by Santosh Kaur and closing remarks were made by Gurjeet Kaur, Chair of Institution of Asian Businesses Birmingham and Editor of Sikh Times.

The event was supported through Community Dewvelopment Foundation and arranged with the support of Sikh Community Forum, Sikh Women’s Forum, British Organisation of Sikh Students, Miri Piri Young People Academy and the 5K Foundation.

The event was covered by Channel Punjab and the BBC Asian Network Documentaries Department.

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