Tibetan Women’s Association celebrates International Mother’s Day
The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. It is a mother who strives, seeks and never yields. Mother's Day is celebrated on various days in many places around the world. Different countries celebrate Mother's Day on various days of the year because the day has a number of different origins. But a host of countries including India and the United States celebrate it on the second Sunday of the month of May. The origin of Mother’s day traces back to 1870`s when Social activist Julia Ward Howe after the American Civil War intended to observe the day as a call to unite women against war. In 1870, she wrote the Mother's Day Proclamation as a call for peace and disarmament. Hence Mother’s day signifies a day of peace.
Tibetan women have carried a significant role in the history of Tibet. Besides the role of a mother, they have forged immense courage and shouldered huge responsibility in wielding an important role in the non-violent struggle. 12th march 1959 marked history as thousands of Tibetan women came forward to protest the illegal Chinese occupation of Tibet and hundreds sacrificed their lives.
Since then, the role of Tibetan women has been commendable and significant. Ever since TWA was reinstated on the 10th September 1984, Tibetan women have donned pivotal role in carrying our struggle to the forefront. Therefore let us all honor the brave Tibetan mothers who is not only the heart of the family and the scion to generate another life, but is also the bastion of our Tibetan freedom struggle and significantly the crusader of Humanity at large.
Suiting the occasion of International Mother’s day, we have arranged for a screening of the Documentary film Women of Tibet: `A Quiet Revolution` produced and directed by Rosemary Rawcliffe and presented by Frame of Mind Films. The Film tells the story of one of the great movements of nonviolent resistance in modern history. In 1959, an estimated 15,000 unarmed Tibetan women took to the streets of Lhasa to oppose the violent Communist Chinese occupation of their country. The surviving exiled elders are the last generation of women left to tell the story of the Tibet Women’s Uprising and to transmit their cultural legacy.
For the first time on film, three generations of Tibet’s most dynamic and articulate women share the wisdom and compassion that bridge their ancient and contemporary worlds. They have lost everything, survived a perilous escape across the Himalayas and decades in prison, yet they have transformed the brutality of invasion into a community of compassion and non-violence amidst the complexities of the modern world. From their principal refuge in Dharamsala, India, to small settlements scattered across the globe, these women have become the architects and builders of the new Tibet in exile. Their goal is singular-to impart to Tibetan children the strength and knowledge of their cultural heritage and spiritual wisdom.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama expresses his deep admiration and gratitude for his countrywomen in their fight for Tibet’s freedom and speaks candidly about their powerful significance in rebuilding their community and offering outstanding examples of spiritual and peaceful leadership to the world.
Part of a unique trilogy called WOMEN OF TIBET; A Quiet Revolution is an inspired journey into the spiritual power of peaceful resistance and a celebration of the human spirit