// Year 14 // Issue 04 // 20 April 2021 Oasis Periodical (Newsletter-Cum-Magazine) Of OASIS MOVEMENT
On this 24th April,
...Continuing the Inspirational Journey of Womanhood...
In Dialogue with Ufra Mir...
Saamarthya Series of Online Guest Sessions...
Ufra Mirfrom Kashmir, is the first and only Peace Psychologist in South Asia. The youngest in the world in her field, she works at the intersection of the science of psychology, mental health psychosocial support, education and peace-building.
She is the Founding Exec Director of Paigaam, as well as the International Center for Peace Psychology. She has also worked at the Kashmir Institute, a think tank focused on research and dialogue, as its former co-director.
Where her vision of peace is very much foundational in holistic global wellbeing, mental health psychosocial support, self-transformation, change making and inner peace first - for a more empowered, more empathetic, more peaceful and more cohesive, just and resilient world.
Her work is aimed at impacting individuals, communities and systems - to heal, cope up positively with the ramifications of living in any conflict situation or zone, building more resilience, dialogue, and space for positive peacebuilding in the process.
She has worked in Kashmir, other parts of India and South Asia, and the USA in the past decade; and supports many individuals and organizations locally and globally through volunteer experiential workshops, designing interventions, facilitating dialogues, implementing strategies, mentoring, advocacy and collaborations.
In Kashmir, she voluntarily has been working with artists, half-widows, orphans, at-risk youth, journalists, students, teachers and many other people in the past decade.
Glimpses of Achievements & Awards:
Ufra Mir has been recognized as one of the top 10 Kashmiri women achievers, which includes a recent Lal Ded Khatoon-e-Kashmir award, for her contribution to peace-psychology work, focused on wellbeing, healing and peacebuilding in Kashmir.
Also she has been received recognition from international forums like;
World Economic Forum's Global Shaper Hub (Shape South-Asia Summit, India),
UN (Women), Nobel Peace Prize forums (USA),
The Bill Clinton’s Global Initiative (USA),
The Swedish Institute (Sweden),
Center for Nonviolence & Peace-studies (Uni of Rhode Island, USA),
In Grand Annual Retreat at Oasis Valleys in March 2021, one of the highlights was the session on Saamarthya.
6-7 Misaal Honourship Explorers (MHEs) shared their bold decisions and experiences of breaking gender stereotypes and living life on their own terms.
A 14 year old MHE shared her sense of freedom and confidence she achieved by cutting her long hair to not a "boy" cut, but "Saamarthya cut" as she calls it.
Teenage girls shared the courage they mustered to not attend social functions in favour of doing meaningful activities in life rather than succumbing to social pressure. Girls shared how they accepted themselves to be beautiful by rejecting "make up".
The highlight was the first Saamarthya sharing by a boy who underwent major paradigm shifts about his views on women. Having always been a silent witness to the wrong doings to his mother, sister and women around him, he passionately and tearfully accepted his ignorance and urged men to rethink and become sensitive towards this issue.
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