Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday stressed on the fact that India needs to give equal opportunities to women in all spheres.
“With women constituting about 50 per cent of India’s population, we cannot make progress unless they are given equal opportunities in all spheres, including the political arena,” the Vice President said.
Through a Facebook post, Naidu had urged all political parties to arrive at a common agreement on the pending proposal for providing adequate reservation to women representatives in Parliament and state legislatures.
A bill to provide reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and various state assemblies was passed by the Upper House (Rajya Sabha) but got terminated after the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha in 2014.
The vice president noted that the country’s culture has always accorded respect to women and treated them as equals.
“It is high time we give girls and women their due in society and leave no stone unturned to empower them,” he said.
Naidu cited the accomplishments of outstanding women like Prabhavati, the daughter of Chandra Gupta II, who performed administrative duties in her kingdom and Razia Sultana, the only woman monarch to rule Delhi.
He asserted that there should be zero tolerance towards any kind of discrimination or violence against females and there is a need to show in action and deeds that gender discrimination no longer exists in society.
While addressing a virtual event on August 20, Naidu pushed for stricter implementation of laws to ban female foeticide and dowry and ensure free and compulsory education for the girl child. (With inputs from PTI)
Source: Hindustan Times
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