Saree Walkathon: over 15000 women in Surat walk adorned in Sarees

On April 9^th, 2023, over 15000 women took to the streets dressed in Sarees, with videos of the same making rounds on social media. However, that’s not all, as what added to the beauty of the rather bizarre-yet-viral video was that these women could be seen dancing to Gujarati songs on the streets. Nothing too out of the ordinary, right? Its Surat city after all.

Surat city, also better known as the Diamond City, is quite well-known for unique sets of initiatives towards promoting, arts, culture, women and textiles. In yet another interesting initiative, the ‘Saree Walkathon’ was organized by Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) and Surat Smart City Development Limited. As part of this initiative, around 20,000 women registered for the event, that took place on Sunday.

What is the Saree Walkathon?

The Saree Walkathon was organized by SMC and the Surat Smart City Development Limited on Sunday, where over 15000 women representing 15 states of India walked the streets of Surat city wearing sarees. The Walkathon began from Athwa Party Plot, covering Parle Point and the walkers returned to the starting point, The participants walked the 3-km circuit as a part of the event.

The Saree Walkathon is notably one of the first in a series of initiatives launched by the Surat city administration for women. This event was launched with several aims that include:

• Promoting fitness
• Spirit of the textile industry in the city
• Women empowerment
• Supporting Vocal for Local ideas

The main attraction of the event were the 15000 women representing 15 different states of India, wearing sarees draped in the styles representing the cultures of those 15 states, dancing to Gujarati folk music. Surat Municipal Commissioner Shalini Agrawal and Surat Mayor Hemali Boghawala also participated in the event.According to the Deputy Municipal Commissioner Swati Desai, the event saw registrations by over 20,000 women. Surat Municipal Commissioner while addressing the media spoke about the Saree Walkathon and its aims, including the main aim of “walking to create fitness among women”.

After this event, a four-day exhibition with specifically saree artisans from across India is to be held in the city. However, as mentioned before, the Saree Walkathon was just the first of the many initiatives planned by SMC, in light of which an initiative on developing baby feeding centers in public places will also be carried out by the municipal administration.