Bhubaneswar: As the International Women’s Day is being celebrated today across the globe to highlight the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, Odisha under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is championing the cause of women empowerment.
Women are the backbone of the family, architects of the society and bedrock of the nation. No household, no society, no state, no country has ever progressed without empowering its women.
Women empowerment can be achieved only when women are given opportunity or encouraged for their participation in all areas and sectors and have a voice in the decision-making process.
When it comes to women empowerment and emancipation, unarguably Odisha’s longest serving Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik is a true champion. His path-breaking initiatives like 50 per cent reservation for women in Panchyati Raj institutions, Resolution seeking 33 per cent reservation in legislative assemblies and Parliament, Mission Shakti, Mamata Yojana, girls’ education, hostels for tribal girls, Biju Swastya Kalyan Yojana Smart Health Card, land rights for women under Jaga Mission, school transformation programme, digital initiatives like Mo Seva Kendra, development of rural and sports infrastructure have gone a long way in empowering women in Odisha.
In a country like India, the role of women occupies a significant place in the development of the family and the society at large. The changing characteristics of Indian society with a mix of rural and urban order depend much on the women folk. In each and every sphere, be it economy, education, health or welfare, women are at the center and deserve the best of the encouragement so that there is all round development. State sponsorship to various encouragement programs of women plays an important role in women empowerment.
In India, there are a few programs which deserve to be discussed and debated for their contribution to women empowerment and thereby social change. One such initiative is the flagship program of the Government of Odisha, Mission Shakti that has become a revolution in the state.
Mission Shakti has shown the world that successful women empowerment has the trickle down impact on the economy, livelihood, social development, healthcare and education of the state. The state has the distinction of having more than 70 lakh self help group (SHG) members supported by Mission Shakti. From a humble beginning in the year 2001, Mission Shakti today has become a force to be reckoned with. After nearly two decades, the humble beginning has become a revolution today and brought under its ambit more than 7 million women. This flagship programme of the government of Odisha for women empowerment has successfully achieved its goal of empowering the women of the state by providing them gainful activities in various socio-economic sectors. Mission Shakti, with its multi-pronged approach to the strategies for making women self-sufficient has been able to improve the economic condition of lakhs of families and thereby the state’s economy also.
The Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) Health Smart Card is yet another path-breaking initiative towards the health and wellbeing of the women in the State. It is the first of its kind health assurance scheme in the country that provides annual health coverage of Rs. 5 lakh per family and additional Rs. 5lakh for the women members of the family.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has always emphasized on the education of girls. In his worlds, “When you educate a girl child, you educate a nation. That’s why CM Naveen Patnaik has always emphasized and encouraged education of girls”. Participation of women in technical education and further employment in industries has been a priority area of the State Government. The schemes like Sudakshya have helped to increase enrolment of girls in ITIs. The ongoing ambitious 5T High School Transformation programme, that eliminates the differences between the schools in the city and the villages, has filled a sense of confidence in the students to dream big and to take lead in all sectors, learn about new technologies, dream big and move forward in life with confidence.
Similarly, Jaga Misison, which is acclaimed as the World’s largest slum land settlement programme, has immensely benefited women living in urban slums to get land titles.
The women in Odisha have excelled in sports arena and made the State proud with their achievements at the national and international sporting events. It has been possible due to the constant support and encouragement to the women sportsperson by the State Government along with massive sports infrastructure development.
During election times, most of the political parties in their manifestos repeatedly speak about women empowerment, but somewhere when it comes to walking the talk, there is a deafening silence. But, for Odisha Chief Minister and his party Biju Janata Dal are always true to their words and sincerely fulfil what they have promised for women empowerment and gender responsive governance in the State, which has been well acknowledged by the United Nations. Naveen kept his promise of giving tickets to 33 percent women in Parliamentary elections in the 2019 elections.
At the national level, the Naveen-led party has been relentlessly striving for 33 per cent reservation in the Lok Sabha by initiating an effort to bringing in a consensus among all political parties of the country.
The day is not so far to see that the women of Odisha will be leading the way in women empowerment in India.
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