Students, faculty discuss women and mental health at Cotton College State University

Guwahati: To commemorate International Women's Day, the department of psychology at Cotton College State University (CCSU) organized a daylong seminar on 'Women and Mental Health' at its KBR Auditorium on Tuesday.Students from 15 higher educational institutes in the city and in Karbi Anglong, Sivasagar, Dibrugarh, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Patna participated in the seminar.The event was inaugurated by CCSU vice-chancellor Dhruba Jyoti Saikia who stressed on the need for mental healthcare for women. Convener of the seminar and head of the department of psychology Dimpy Mahanta spoke on the initiatives taken by the department to bring about community-based collaborations and spread awareness on mental health among all sections of society.The keynote address was delivered by entrepreneur Arunima Dutta. Renowned psychiatrist Sangeeta Datta touched upon the general and clinical aspects of women's mental health. Anjana Goswami, founder and director of NGO Ashadeep, spoke on the psychosocial rehabilitation of persons with mental illness, while Urmee Majumdar, founder of NGO Swabalambi, spoke about community-based rehabilitation and inclusive development of persons with disability. The last speaker of the day, legal professional Nilakshi Sharma, delivered a lecture on 'Empowering Women Through Laws at Workplace' and discussed specific laws affecting them.