Awaam Ki Awaaz | Govt dedicated to women empowerment, gender equality: LG

Srinagar, Oct 15: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha Sunday said that the government was dedicated to women’s empowerment and gender equality.

An official spokesman in a statement issued here said that dedicating the 31st edition of the ‘Awaam Ki Awaaz’ programme to the women change-makers of Jammu Kashmir, the LG while extending his heartiest greeting on the occasion of Navratri reiterated the commitment of the J&K government towards empowerment of women and gender equality

“Goddess Durga is a symbol of women’s empowerment. May the festival of Navratri inspire us to work for the well-being and progress of Nari Shakti, and build a gender-equal society,” he said.

In this month’s programme, Sinha shared the inspiring journey of women entrepreneurs and highlighted the efforts of the administration to create an enabling environment for women entrepreneurship and realize their true potential.

“Rabiya Rasool, an entrepreneur from Srinagar and owner of the ‘Carpets’ enterprise is a symbol of conviction, commitment, dedication, and indomitable courage. She is also reviving the traditional Ardabil style of carpets which will inspire and motivate other young entrepreneurs,” he said.

The LG appreciated Sanchaita Pradhan Khajuria and Mansi Gupta for their endeavours to strengthen the unique cultural and artistic heritage of J&K.

“Sanchaita is promoting Basohli and Bina art through her company ‘Shilpkari Bazar Business’. She is an immense source of inspiration and motivation to all women,” he said. “Mansi Gupta is an agent of change and inspiring other women to become architects of their destiny. Her company, MG Design Studio is making dedicated efforts to revive the Calico painting art of Samba.”

Sinha said that the HAUSLA programme was one of the key initiatives of the J&K administration helping the women entrepreneurs to rise and excel.

“It helped many women like Zariefa Hamid, Shivani Sharma, and Sanyokta Bhagat to learn the value of the e-commerce market and build upon their business ideas,” he said.

The LG said that the support and assistance extended to Zariefa Hamid have enabled her company Misal Embroidery manufacturing Pashmina shawls to get global clientele.

“Shivani Sharma now manages the operations of her preschool digitally. With innovative ideas, she is redefining the business and operating models,” he said. “Sanyokta Bhagat from RS Pura with her indomitable courage overcame many challenges to find her place in the garment sector.”

Sinha made a special mention of the Khushi cluster federation from block Ghordi, Udhampur which is planning to go global with the launch of pine handicrafts on e-commerce platforms.

He said that this would ensure better remunerative marketing linkages for the products of the highly talented artisans, craftsmen, and small enterprises of Udhampur.

The LG commended Zeenat Mushtaq for her pivotal contribution to J&K’s business ecosystem.

“Zeenat now aims to participate in national and international expos so that the marketing experience and business values she has gained can be imparted to the next generation,” he said.