The financial independence of women is essential for their empowerment.
Towards fulfilling this end, every state must set up financial
corporations to help women set up their own enterprises, whether
small or big. Besides, banks can also have some exclusive schemes
targeting women entrepreneurs. Apart from financial empowerment,
the Government must also pay more attention towards improving
health care for women and towards eradicating illiteracy among
them. This was stated by Shri Manohar Joshi, Speaker of the Lok
Sabha while inaugurating a ‘National Workshop on Women in Governance’,
here today.
Shri Joshi, underlining the importance of education
in making women aware of opportunities as well as their rights,
goes a long way towards empowering them. He expressed his unhappiness
at the fact that at present roughly half of the women of the country
are illiterate. Incentives must be given for girls’ education,
with as much waiver of fees as possible, he added.
The Speaker also called for a change of mind
sets, especially among men. He also exhorted the women present
and other women in positions of power to make sure that in Panchayats
and Urban Local Bodies where 33% women are being elected, men
must not rule by proxy.
Speaking on the occasion, Smt. Jaskaur Meena,
Minister of State for Women and Child Development underlined that
the need of the hour was to improve the status of women, more
so of rural women who are even today leading extremely difficult
lives. They not only have to work at home and in the fields, they
also, in most cases, suffer social discrimination. She called
upon NGOs to look into women’s problems at the grassroot level
as also at the family level.
Smt. Meena emphasised that while empowering the
Indian women, adequate care must be taken that our culture and
basic values are not mitigated. She said that progress is necessary
but it must not be blind.
Smt. Najma Heptulla, Deputy Chairperson, Rajya
Sabha and Smt. V. S. Rama Devi, former Governor, Karnataka, besides
others, spoke on the occasion.
