Sex workers adorning weapons and ornaments to Goddess Durga idol for the first time at Sonagachi (Red light area) on the occasion of Durga puja, in Kolkata.
Kolkata: Women's empowerment and crimes against women are the main themes of the pandals for the four-day extravaganza of the Durga Pujas beginning in Kolkata tomorrow.
Themes against female foeticide and child marriage have also been adopted by many puja committees.
The Chakraberia Sarbojanin Durgotsav, which has entered its 68th year, is celebrating 'Naari Shakti' with the theme "As a woman I am strong, I will never bow my head to any wrong."
A puja committee member said, "Every woman has power and inner strength, but she requires the will to counter evil, may it be in society, home, office or anywhere else."
The Kumartuli Park pandal has created 12 jyotirlingas.
"Jyotirlinagas are known as a source of power. They depict the power of women since Maa Durga resides in every woman," said an organiser of the Puja.
Dum Dum Park Tarun Dal in the north has taken up the theme of 'Mother'. In Salt lake area, some pandals have portrayed rapists as the demon Mahisahur.
"We wanted to portray that evil forces or demons have returned to plague the woman of today as rapists. But Maa Durga will kill the new age Mahisasuras," an organiser said.
He said that Durga symbolises the modern day women who have power and authority.
A puja committee at Birati area in North 24 Parganas has female infanticide as its theme.
"The theme is an effort to spread social awareness against female foeticide. It is an irony that on one hand we worship women as Maa Durga and, on other hand, kill the female foetus as we don't want a girl child," said an organiser.
Another puja in the Bongaon area of the North 24 Parganas has taken up the ills of child marriage.
West Bengal Women's Commission chairperson Sunanda Mukherjee welcomed the highlighting of various issues concerning women and felt that it would help in raising awareness on violence against women.
"We are hopeful that putting up these issues as puja themes will help in raising social awareness," Ms Mukherjee said.