The Hindu : Cong. committed to empowerment of women, says Sonia

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 15, 2003

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National

Cong. committed to empowerment of women, says Sonia

By Sunny Sebastian

AJMER JUNE 14. The Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, today sought to make women's empowerment a people's movement in the country to usher in a more egalitarian and equitable society. "Women's problems are not theirs alone. They are society's problems,'' she said addressing a convention on women empowerment here.

Ms. Gandhi was emphatic that the Congress had always supported political empowerment of women. She blamed the BJP and its partners in the National Democratic Alliance Government for thwarting the attempts to provide reservation for women in Parliament.

``Women are not seeking any favour from anyone when they ask for their empowerment. It is their right and they form half of society.'' There had been considerable improvement in their lot since Independence but the goal was still distant, she said.

The Congress, specially the late Indira Gandhi, contributed greatly to women's emancipation in the past. "The party has always remained committed towards women's empowerment. The late Indira Gandhi was the very symbol of an empowered woman.''

But for the Rajasthan Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot, and members of the security, the dais was occupied by women, including the Congress general secretary, Ambika Soni, the Mahila Congress president, Rita Bahuguna, the Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Kamla, the PCC president, Girija Vyas, the State Mahila Congress president, Prabha Thakur, and the AICC secretary, Krishna Gehlawat. Barring a few Seva Dal volunteers and party workers the ground too was covered totally by women.

This was the last event of the two-day whirlwind tour of the Congress president in Rajasthan and there was a storm gathering in the background as dusty winds lashed the shamiana erected to reduce the intense heat of the Merwada (Ajmer) region.

There was also commotion from among the colourfully attired women sitting in front as a few dozen of them were members of the Rajput Arakshan Manch (Rajput reservation front) demanding reservation to the poor in the community.

As the dust storms did not convert into rain, the small drama staged by the protesting group also passed and Ms. Gandhi continued her speech.

Ms. Gandhi expressed concern over the sex determination tests and the growing negative sex ratio for women in the country. The violence against women and children too was an area of grave concern and Rajasthan too was not free from this, she said. There was need to make women aware of the issues and fight for their rights. "The family and society should know the sacrifices women make,'' she observed.

She said the country owed it to women for upholding its high traditions and the much-desired social harmony.

Despite the constant efforts of the BJP and its allies to spread disharmony among communities, social harmony was still intact due to the determination of women, she said.

Ms. Gandhi, who offered prayers at the Gau Ghat and Brahma temple in Pushkar and did a "jiyarat'''' at the Dargah of Moinuddhin Chisti here on her arrival from Tonk earlier during day said the town was a shining example of peaceful co-existence of communities.

She also hailed Ajmer as a place where pioneering work had been carried out in women empowerment through self-help groups.

She appreciated the State Government's gesture in providing 30 per cent reservation for women in government jobs.

The Congress president suggested that there could be more meetings on women's issues similar to the convention the party had in Delhi sometime ago. Each of the issues needed a separate convention, she said.

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