Urban News

The Hindu - Kerala 19.08.2009

Schemes for women sanitation workers

Special Correspondent

Thiruvananthapuram: The government is planning to implement several welfare schemes for women engaged in the removal of solid waste.

Local Self-Government Minister Paloli Mohammed Kutty said here on Monday that an expert committee headed by Sanitation Mission Director Dr. Ajaykumar Varma had been appointed to study the work and health challenges being faced by the women. Its recommendations had been accepted by the Government and steps had been taken on the basis of them.

It had been decided to provide apron, gloves and mask to the workers. An insurance scheme which would provide for the payment of Rs.1 lakh in the event of death or disability due to accident would be implemented for them. Health cards would be provided to them and they would be subjected to medical check-ups. A minimum net income of Rs.2,500 a month would be ensured in their case. A welfare fund would also be set up.

An additional annual expenditure of Rs.2.06 crore would have to be incurred for covering the 2,177 members of the 255 Kudmbasree units in 23 urban bodies. It would be shared on an equal basis by the urban body and the unit concerned.

The Hindu - Karnataka 19.08.2009

‘Education will help empower women’

Special Correspondent

— PHOTO: M.A. SRIRAM

Capicity Building: The former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Mysore P. Selvi Das inaugurating a workshop in Mysore on Tuesday.

MYSORE: The former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Mysore P. Selvi Das has said that women’s education is more important for their empowerment than 33 per cent reservation in legislatures.

She was speaking after inaugurating a workshop on capacity building for women leaders organised by the International Centre and the Centre for Women’s Studies, University of Mysore, here on Tuesday.

Ms. Das called for measures to help women develop self-confidence within the academic curriculum, which would also help them develop a greater sense of self-respect. She said there should be greater awareness and sensitisation of both men and women to women’s issues if society were to progress.

She, however, cautioned that women’s empowerment was not about wearing Western clothes or focussing on physical attributes. Empowerment came along with enormous responsibility towards one’s family and society. Indian culture should not be done away with, she added.

She said 62 years of Independence had not resulted in much advancement in the status of women in the country. “There is a general perception and a deep-rooted belief that marriage is the summum bonum of all existence, and that a woman increases in stature if she is married,” said Ms. Das.

Social stigma

“There is social stigma attached to unmarried women, which is not good. Incidents of female infanticide and female foeticide are a direct off-shoot of this belief,” she added.

Recalling her experience of dealing with women aspirants for the IAS when she was a member of the Union Public Service Commission, Ms. Das said that although women were found to be as competent as men, even after selection and completion of probation they were being given insignificant postings.

“So even educated women in urban areas perceive discrimination,” she said and added that the situation was worse in rural areas.

Ms. Das said discrimination against women in society was deep-rooted and pointed out that less than 6.25 per cent of all legislators in the States were women. The country had had only one woman Prime Minister in 62 years, one woman President and one woman Lok Sabha Speaker so far. Also, there were only two women out of 26 Supreme Court judges.

She said that although the country had passed various laws for women’s empowerment, there was little awareness among women on their rights, such as those relating to property. Ms. Das said the Women’s Reservation Bill to reserve 33 per cent of seats in legislatures for women had been kept in abeyance for more than 10 years. This only showed the attitude of political leaders.

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Mysore V.G. Talawar, the former Director of the Madras Institute of Development Studies V.K. Nataraj, and Director of the International Centre R. Indira were present.