Women need to be self-reliant for empowerment, says Smriti Irani

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Dec 13: Union HRD Minister Smriti Zubin Irani today said that ‘no lecture and talk on women empowerment will bear any fruits unless the members of the fairer sex in the country are self-reliant and the males change their attitude towards women’.   

Delivering the 10th MK Baruah Memorial Lecture on ‘Education as a Tool for Women’s Empowerment in our Society’ organized by New Art Players on the occasion of its Diamond Jubilee celebrations at Mamma Margaret Auditorium, Don Bosco School, Panbazar in the city today, Irani said: “Even after 68 years of independence of India the real picture of women empowerment is such that maximum schools in the country don’t have separate toilet for girl students. We’ve made arrangement for four lakh toilets for girls in schools. So long the attitude of males towards women is not changed, women empowerment won’t be a reality in the country. Even in educated societies, women don’t get their due respect. It’s only education that can make women empowerment a reality as education can make women self-reliant.”

The Union minister also said: “After six months, we’re going to start free-of-cost diploma courses in IITs and NITs of the country.”

Meanwhile, as many as five women achievers of the Northeast were felicitated at the function. However, two of them –Assam danseuse Gorima Hazarika and Aruchal Pradesh mountaineer Anshu Jamsenpa— could not turn up for the event. The other three are Ngairangbam Bimola Devi of Manipur, Drimsibon Kharkongor of Meghalaya and Sasile N Zeliang of galand.