“There is a wide gender disparity in the literacy rate between men and women in India,” said Neelavalli, Executive Director, Initiatives: Women in Development, a Chennai-based non-governmental organisation, here on Thursday.
Speaking at the silver jubilee celebration of Centre for Women’s Studies at Lady Doak College, Dr. Neelavalli said though basic literacy stood at over 60 per cent, the number of women pursuing higher education was low in States such as Rajasthan. On Women’s Reservation Bill, she said the Bill provided for 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lower House of Parliament and State Assemblies. “But we have achieved it only at the panchayat level,” she said.
Urging the womenfolk to participate in governance, she said providing education to the less privileged women must be the priority of the educated.
“Their inborn quality of caring for others lends a balanced approach to anything. Hence, women must be allowed to think and make plans for the country,” she said. She stressed the need for a good grasp of history. “The present generation has forgotten the deeds of the country’s women. It was the women’s movement that led independence struggle in India. We must be aware of our history and how we got our rights after much struggle,” she said.
Mercy Pushpalatha, Principal, Lady Doak College, and Sugandha Ramamoorthi, Director, Centre for Women’s Studies, spoke.
