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Friday, Sep 24, 2004

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Women's Congress chief sets new priorities

By Our Staff Correspondent

BHOPAL, SEPT. 23. The All-India Women's Congress president, Rita Bahuguna, today said it would be her endeavour that the Women's Congress did not remain just a political unit of the Congress party but became an instrument for social change through empowerment of women.

Ms. Bahuguna was addressing a seminar organised by the Madhya Pradesh unit of the Women's Congress here in the State Capital. The subject of the seminar was: "Rising atrocities against women and the culprits." She said that pressure needed to be mounted to get Parliament's speedy clearance for the Women's Reservation Bill as well as the Bill on domestic violence. Both these issues are part of the common minimum programme of the Congress-led ruling alliance at the Centre, she said, adding that women are at the core of Congress' programmes and policies. The exploited sections have always remained in sharp focus when it comes to the Congress party, she said, adding that this explains the topic for today's discussion.

Ms. Bahuguna said: "Most of our time and energy remains devoted to electoral politics. However, this is peacetime and should be devoted to constructive activities." Drawing attention towards rising atrocities against women, she said "we will have to find out why the situation has deteriorated even more than what it was fifty years ago".

Atrocities against women could be reduced by breaking the narrow age-old value system of the male-dominated society, she said, adding that there should be a peaceful revolution and a campaign to restore women's self-esteem and protect them from all kinds of exploitation and atrocities. Women would have to come forward and take up the challenge through self-evaluation she asserted.

Taking a dig at the former Chief Minister, Uma Bharti, she said that at a time when Dalit women were being gang-raped in the State, the former Chief Minister had chosen to go on a "Tiranga Yatra". It is "unfortunate that someone who has been spreading communal hatred is now trying to teach us the meaning of nationalism", she emphasised.

The former Chairperson of the National Women's Commission, Mohini Giri, said it was unfortunate that "we have failed to convert a male-dominated country into a female-dominated nation. This is due to thousands of years of continuous exploitation of women, who are forced to spend the best part of their life rearing and bearing children".

The president of the State unit of the Women's Congress, Shobha Ojha, expressed concern over growing atrocities against women. She cited the contrast of Kalpana Chawla, who died in a space shuttle disaster, and Dalit women who continue to get gang raped.

The Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly, Jamuna Devi, said that no other political party had done as much for women's cause as the Congress. She said there were policies and programmes for the sake of women's welfare but these were not being implemented effectively by the administrative machinery.

She pulled up the police saying that they were reluctant to register the first information report (FIR) on crime against women. She empasised that women could be empowered economically by providing better education especially in the rural and tribal areas.

The head of the Madhya Pradesh unit of Seva Dal, Mahendra Joshi, said that instead of focusing attention on specific incidents, one would have to identify causes leading to atrocities against women. Addressing the media, he said that instead of sensationalising crime against women, there should be an attempt to sensitise society on this grave issue.

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Women's Congress chief sets new priorities