Laws exist to support women in their fight for justice, but the decision to step forward and use them must come from within, speakers said at a panel on upholding women’s rights in the city.

While legal frameworks create opportunity, exercising those rights ultimately depends on individual resolve, they said.

“Laws will help and give a woman an opportunity, but she has to take that opportunity and put her foot forward,” said filmmaker Sudeshna Roy.

Sudeshna, also a former chairperson of the West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights, underlined the courage it takes to report domestic violence. “Even today, people try to keep domestic violence under wraps, and when it comes out, it is the woman who is blamed,” she said, pointing to the persistent stigma that silences many.

The discussion touched on the weight of tradition. Patriarchal norms, speakers noted, continue to define women’s roles, often limiting their choices and freedoms. Breaking out of these prescribed roles requires confronting deeply embedded mindsets that seek to subjugate women.

Roy was among the speakers at the panel titled Empower Women, Empower Future and Break Barriers, organised by Inner Wheel District 329 at its inter-city meet at GD Birla Sabhaghar on Saturday.

The annual event brought together accomplished women from diverse fields, each reflecting on the barriers women face and the importance of finding one’s voice and space.

It also created a platform for two girls from underprivileged communities to address a packed auditorium — an undergraduate business administration student and a Class XII graduate who have begun to reshape their circumstances with support and determination.

“The talk by the two girls is the ultimate testimony that empowerment has no strata nor address,” said Sumita Roy, past district chairperson and adviser for the meet. “They may come from different sections of society, but it is self-reliance in its truest form when they can stand up for themselves.”

The event coincided with the International Day for Street Children, reinforcing the theme of inclusion and opportunity. “Ours is an organisation with almost 1,800 members, and it stands for fellowship and service,” Sumita added.

Other speakers included theatre actor Ramanjit Kaur, motivational speaker Naina More, cricketer Saika Ishaque, and hotelier Rohini Bachhawat. Educationist Sreela Mitra moderated the session.

Ramanjit spoke about the stigma women in theatre continue to face. “‘Achhe ghar ki bahu (women from ‘good’ homes) don’t do theatre’. Why? Because theatre is voice — it is about saying something, and people don’t want to hear it,” she said, adding that husbands often object because theatre portrays women as “revolutionaries”.