DBSV Teej Celebration - Preserving Culture Raising Hope

Teej: A means to appreciate women's strength in God's Era

The Teej celebration was started a long ago from the ancient period in Hindu culture to recognize the divine power of women and their devotion to protect their husband and family. God Shiva himself was amazed to notice the deep level of devotion and the divine power in his wife Parwati in many occasions and he wanted to recognize this transforming power of women. As a result, God Shiva created this idea of celebrating Teej dedicating to Goddess Parwati, in the recognition of women's immense and dynamic power to protect their husband and family. Since then we celebrate Teej every year. I guess this was the best start of appreciating women's strength and a big recognition over the power of women, power of us!

Why DBSV Teej Celebration is different?

Firstly by celebrating Teej we are creating a win-win situation. We are celebrating our culture here in Australia and we are making efforts to support women in Nepal who have been the survivor of sexual assault (rape). We are so proud that through our last four Teej events we were able to support 60 women in the mid-western region of Nepal. The fund we raise from each Teej event would bear the cost for the provision of safe short- term accommodation, and support for other essential services such as medical treatment, legal advice, counseling, family and social mediation process. For the provision of these services; we are closely working in partnership with AAWAJ (a profound local NGO working in family violence in the Mid-Western region of Nepal). Our support has been critical as it enables these women to recover, to heal and to empower.

Secondly, we are taking Teej as a platform for women to boost their confidence through staging group dance performances. Many women who never performed before are already practicing for the best performance on the stage. This year we have added mother-daughter dance performance to promote the concept as a means for cultural transformation to our new generation. Women are dancing by pairing up with their daughters on the stage. This will be very interesting to see how our Australian grown daughters take up the stage with the Nepali Teej songs.

Here I would like to request all of you to come along and participate in DBSV Teej. Your contribution counts a lot to create new hopes in the lives of disadvantaged women in Nepal. We know together we can make a difference. Please book your calendar today to attend this very important and significant event with full of fun! Thank you.

Jamuna Parajuli
President | DBSV