Innovative solutions required to end violence and crime against women: Maneka Gandhi

She was speaking during the inaugural function of the two-day national thematic workshop on Women and Child Development held at Panipat on Tuesday.

She pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ programme - the fourth initiative of the Union Government after Jan Dhan Yojana, Swachch Bharat Abhiyan and Make in India on Independence Day and chose Haryana to start the campaign as it was one of the states which had declining female sex-ratio.

According to her, 100 districts with low female sex-ratio have been selected from all over the country.

The Prime Minister will be launching the conference tomorrow at Panipat and later will be implemented in other districts.

Gandhi urged the state government and the Deputy Commissioners and other functionaries to look in tandem for the cause of ‘Beti Bachao and Beti Padhao’ and report the innovative programmes and initiatives taken by them which would be later sent to Prime Minister for review.

She added that awards will be given to the innovative villages which attain a balanced sex-ratio as well as District Commissioner or Ambassadors of the campaign after suitably reviewing by the Government.

She said that ‘Paray Dhan’ note has to be discovered in the society so that parents would not hesitate to give birth to a girl child and worry about their functions.

She opined that the practice of sex selection is high in middle, upper middle and rich people.

Gandhi said every month the DM will send report to the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development and the same will be sent to PMO. She expected improvement in CSR in every nine months too.

Gandhi said, "A society without women would be full of violence as women bring gentleness, love and happiness."

She showed her concern that out of 46 per cent children affected by malnutrition in the country about 70 per cent of them were girl child. 

After assuming the office as Minister she emphasized on strengthening the National Commission of Women and on 33 per cent reservation for females in the police force.

Addressing the workshop, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal said, the low sex-ratio in Haryana is a concern and a challenge but the  of Prime Minister would provide inspiration to improve the sex ratio as compared to other States.

He said, all schemes for women empowerment in Haryana will be launched on the occasion of International Women’s Day on Mar 8.

Speaking on the occasion, Gujarat Chief Minister Anandi Ben Patel applauded the efforts put in by the Haryana Chief Minister and said that in the year 2001, the literacy rate of women in Gujarat was around 59 per cent which has now increased to more than 70 due to the implementation of various programmes under the guidance of the then Chief Minister of Gujarat and now the Prime Minister Modi.

Also the rate of institutional deliveries has reached 95 per cent in Gujarat.

She said, "The State Government had set up two akh ‘Sakhi Mandals’ so as to ensure the economic development of women. As many as 30 lakh women have so far been associated with these mandals".

In addition, the state government also waived the stamp duty on the purchase of property in the name of women.

A sum of Rs.651 crore had so far been waived off as stamp duty.

Recently, she had also announced a reservation of 33 per cent for women in the police force. She also listed a number of other schemes of women empowerment being implemented by Gujarat government.