Our country has rich history of women empowerment, emancipation: CM Omar Abdullah

Jammu, Jan 9: Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah today remarked that this country has a rich history of women empowerment and emancipation from the very beginning as it was born on the core idea of equality.

According to an official press release,  The Chief Minister made these remarks while delivering the presidential address during the valedictory session of week long first women's National Integration Camp on “‘Women Empowerment and Emancipation through NSS” at Padma Shri Padma Sachdev (PSPS) Government College for Women at Gandhinagar.

In his address, the Chief Minister said that this country has born on principles of equality and gave women right to vote in very first election. “This country has seen women in leadership roles before countries who tried to teach us lessons. Our country had women Prime Minister before many developed countries had even thought of it,” he said.

He added, “Our Country had more than one women President and currently the occupant of our highest office is a woman”. The Chief Minister further said that our country also had a woman Lok Sabha speaker in the past, which speaks volumes about the ideals of women empowerment and emancipation in our democratic country.

The Chief Minister underlined that in one area where we are still lacking women empowerment is in public representation.  “The sad fact is that we have not been able to take this empowerment to its logical conclusion. We keep talking about reservation as the way forward, but true empowerment will have been achieved when women occupy an equal number of positions in the day-to-day governance and decision-making of this country without having to rely on reservation to get there,” Omar Abdullah said.

He added that at the end of the day women make up 50 percent  of the population of this country but do not make up 50 percent of the elected representatives. The Chief Minister on the occasion also expressed gratitude to the participants from 16 different States and UTs for coming to Jammu and participating in this camp.

He asked the participants that whichever corner of the country you are going to please go as “our ambassadors and carry from us a message of goodwill, message of love and friendship.” Addressing the gathering, Minister for Health and Medical Education, Social Welfare and Education, Sakeena Itoo said that it is pleasing to see people from different states participating together under one roof.