EXPRESSING GRATITUDE TO WOMEN FOR SPREADING HAPPINESS IN OUR LIVES

08 Mar 2018

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It’s said that behind every successful man there is a woman. I can say it for a fact that whatever little success and happiness I’ve achieved today is because of the blessings of my mother and the unflinching support of my wife. Although I do not support the idea of singling out a day to acknowledge the contribution of women, nonetheless, March 8 gives us an opportunity to express our gratitude to all the women around us. So, let us make this International Women’s Day special for the womenfolk around us who make our lives special and shower us with love, affection, compassion and empathy.

I have always believed that growth of any nation is only possible when its women are accorded with the highest amount of respect, their dignity revered and their talent provided a platform. As the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, I have always tried to do my best to work for the cause of women and make them empowered. Thousands of Women Self Help Groups have been started as part of the Livelihood Mission that has transformed the lives of lakhs of women by making them financially independent. Women who were once homemakers have now become breadwinners too, emerging as successful entrepreneurs and starting their own establishments. We have also recently decided to entrust them with the responsibility of producing nutritious take-away meals and stitching uniform for students of government schools.

My firm belief that women are born leaders inspired me to make a 50% reservation for them in all local body elections and vacancy of teachers. A 33% reservation in all government departments excluding forest has been made. Many women from the state have made us proud. Avni Chaturvedi, by becoming the first Indian women to fly a fighter jet solo. The ten BSF women from MP who, as part of Seema Bhavani, performed first-of-its-kind daredevil bike stunts this Republic Day. Interestingly, not only urban but even rural women of Madhya Pradesh are making their mark in different fields. Rekha Pandram, who was also invited to the United Nations to share her success story. Meera Kushwaha was invited to Delhi by Central Govt. for her body of work in malnutrition.

Education is the lynchpin to a good and successful life and thus special emphasis is being laid for the education of women in the state. To help girl child reach their schools hassle-free, we have distributed bicycles. To further help them excel in different fields, skill-training schemes like Kaushalya have been initiated in the state. To curb abhorrent crimes like the rape of minor girls, we have passed a bill for providing capital punishment to rapists. The bill now awaits Presidential assent. Stringent laws are being introduced to bring stalkers and eve-teasers to book and provide a healthy atmosphere for women in the state.

Women are a powerhouse of unbounded possibilities and it is the collective responsibility of the societies and governments to provide a congenial atmosphere for them to prosper. Let's pledge to make efforts to create an atmosphere for gender equality in our areas of influence in line with this year's theme of International Women's Day, #PressforChange