PM talks about women empowerment, keeps mum on reservation

New Delhi: Women should empower themselves technologically and become effective as people’s representatives as mere changes in the system would not suffice, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday but remained silent on the women’s reservation bill for which the President and the Vice-President had made a strong pitch on Saturday.

Insisting that “mere change in system” would not suffice, he said “some changes in structure keep on happening” and stressed the need for women leaders to empower themselves technologically and make effective interventions.

“You will have to make yourself effective. You will have to present issues with facts and figures. Merely changes in the system will not suffice. Some or the other change keep happening in the structure...In order to establish your leadership, you should have the knowledge of subjects.

“...Try to develop your independent image as a public representative. Make an attempt that you have your own image in your region. Once the image of your working style and your views is established among people, it will last for long. You will see people accepting your ideas once you are thus established,” Mr Modi said at the National Conference of Women Legislators. The PM said, “We must think beyond women’s development” and move towards “women-led development.”

Inaugurating the conference on Saturday, President Pranab Mukherjee pitched for 33 per cent reservation for women in elected bodies saying it was a “sad commentary” that so far the country has not been able to achieve over 12 per cent representation for women in Parliament’s total membership.

Vice-President Hamid Ansari had also asked parties to voluntarily increase the nomination of women candidates in elections till the legislation is enacted.
However, the PM skipped any mention about the bill but focussed on larger issues of attitudinal change and the need for women promoting women leadership in different spheres.

5-6 crisis centres for women soon

The women and child development ministry has decided to launch 5-6 One Stop Crisis Centres every month to help women victims of violence.

Three such centres will be launched on International Women’s Day on March 8, women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi said. There are six such centres in the country.

“The One Stop Centres for providing safety to women affected by violence will be significantly expanded this year. We are launching three more One Stop Crisis Centres in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Foundation stone will also be laid in Nagaland,” she said. “We will come up with five to six centres every month this year,” she said.