“Not a minute more”

When the ladies of the Zonta International District 25 met for a two-day biennial convention at Bombay’s Diplomat Hotel on November 11, 2006, their theme remained "Advancing the status of women worldwide,” as noted Manthri Perera of Colombo, Sri Lanka, currently the governor of the district. The meeting had been coordinated by well known music teacher Freny Paghdiwala, director of District 25 Bombay Area I who noted that their emphasis would be on the recruitment of younger members as much as helping women in need within the community. The District 25 slogan of action — "Not a minute more” — has been adopted by the Buffalo, New York, based international organization, denoting their impatient commitment to the cause of women and children worldwide.

Participants in the Zonta International District 25 convention

Zonta International has a consultative status with the United Nations Organization and has its representatives on its international agencies like UNICEF, the UN Development Fund for Women, the International Labor Organization, and others, noted Paghdiwala.

Perera, who was presiding as chief guest on the occasion, noted that Zonta International’s membership stood at over 32,000 and stressed their responsibility to carry the message of the upliftment of women and children that was the credo of this 90-year old organization of business and professional executives to the next generation.

"Zontians are opinion leaders,” claimed guest of honor Dilruba Ahmed of Chittagong, Bangladesh who is the international director-elect from District 25 which comprises Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. "Our aim is service through advocacy, making girls aware of their rights (at a younger age)” by planning globally and working locally. "Passion and mission” has taken the Zonta aim forward even in such conservative societies as Afghanistan, she noted.

With nearly 60 from the three countries registering for the meet, they discussed such issues as training children to cope with domestic violence and conflict resolution as is happening in Colombo, providing for dishoused HIV-positive women with a place to stay with their children, giving them handicraft or other skills to survive, as is happening in Madras. Other items on the agenda included scholarships, programs and awards.

Among the current preoccupations of Zonta International District 25 Area I is the upliftment of Bombay’s red light area people and the vocational training of young women in which they partner the YMCA in its programs, notes Paghdi­wala.

Arnavaz S. Mama