Global women’s conference at Osmania University

Osmania University on Tuesday inaugurated the three-day International Women’s Conference, bringing together academics, leaders and students under the theme ‘Give to earn: The power of women for sustainability’.

Vice-Chancellor Kumar Molugaram inaugurated the event and said the conference was a clarion call to integrate women’s perspectives into global sustainability frameworks.

According to Captain Meera Siddhartha Dev, sustainability requires both discipline and empathy, and ethical leadership is the foundation of long-term social progress, he said.

Clinicians Manjula Anagani and P. Raghu Ram, who were among the speakers, urged women to prioritize health, self-worth and cultural roots.

In the plenary sessions on the first day, empowerment was explored in personal, historical and legal dimensions. Drawing from his personal and professional experiences, actor-politician Gautami Tadimalla emphasized the importance of intentional growth, resilience and boundary setting. Historian Rekha Pandey also examined the roles of women in Telangana’s anti-arak, Razakar and Naxalite movements and pointed out that their contributions were under-represented in leadership structures due to entrenched patriarchy.

The day also featured an outstanding speech by Justice Surepalli Nanda, who highlighted the role of the judiciary in protecting equality, health and reproductive rights. He called for stronger legal frameworks to ensure autonomy, education and gender equality, and called on society to eliminate persistent stereotypes.

Interactive sessions were on governance, innovation and public policy. The day concluded with a collective call for systemic change, emphasizing that true empowerment lies in leadership, representation and sustainable institutional impact.