Witness the celebration of women through KSA’s ‘Women of Wisdom’ event

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Kwantlen Polytechnic University students had the opportunity to join the “Women of Wisdom” event on March 14 at the Surrey campus Conference Center in recognition of International Women’s Day. 

Hosted by the Kwantlen Student Association’s Women Centre, the event aimed to create a platform for female empowerment and awareness, but also for relaxation, fun, and liberation. 

“We always feel shy when it comes to presenting ourselves,” says Jasmine Kaur Kochhar, KSA vice-president external affairs and one of the event’s organizers. 

“So we wanted to set a platform where any student, [but] specifically for this event, female students, can come and express themselves the way they want to, [whether that be] singing, dancing, speech, anything.”  

The event started off with a warm-up as coordinators asked attendees femininity trivia questions. Topics included the global overview of femininity throughout the decades with one question being, “What country had the first female leader?” The answer is Sri Lanka, and the leader is Sirimavo Bandaranaike. People who guessed answers correctly received Cineplex movie tickets or gift cards as a reward. 

Following the trivia, attendees were able to grab a plate of food and a drink, ranging from pizza, spring rolls, and samosas, to chips, cake, and fizzy drinks. There was also a photo booth for attendees to take pictures wearing glasses, hats, and decorative attire under the guidance of the photo spot coordinator. 

The event then moved on to its main activity — performances. All interested attendees were welcomed to stand and show their talents. One by one, participants went onto the stage, not as accounting, business administration, or journalism students, but as artists. 

Some participants sang, while others danced or told jokes. Each performance was unique, showcasing a part of the performer’s culture and personality, and greeted by the audience. 

Although the event was in recognition of International Women’s Day, organizers made sure men and non-binary people also had the opportunity to perform and take part in the event. 

“The priority was women, but … there were lots of men around,” says KSA Women’s Representative and event organizer Gurnoor Kaur. “We are in a society where men and women are pretty [much the] same, and they have equality. So I wanted to create an image of equality among people.” 

International Women’s Day is celebrated annually on March 8, and this year the theme was “Invest in women: Accelerate progress.” Kaur says she wasn’t expecting many students to attend, but experienced the opposite. 

“People showed up, it was super nice [and] it was amazing, wonderful memories I got from this event,” she says. 

Kochhar says that although women have overcome a lot over the years, there is still more to do. 

“What I look up to is girls stepping up [and] not relying on men to help them,” she says. 

“You can be financially independent, you can be academically independent. There’s nothing you cannot do. You have to be your own voice, you should not be relying on someone [else] to help.”