The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Ruth Manorama felicitated

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 15, 2006
ePaper

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Ruth Manorama felicitated

Staff Reporter

Women's Voice celebrates silver jubilee

Bangalore: Women's Voice, an organisation working for the cause of Dalit women, on Thursday felicitated Ruth Manorama for securing the Right Livelihood Award 2006. The organisation also celebrated its silver jubilee.

Ms. Manorama said that the award symbolised the Dalit women's continuous struggle for dignity, equality, human rights and equal rights.

She said that the poor, workers of the unorganised sector, slum dwellers, Dalits, and minorities should demand protection, a house with a permanent title (patta), protective legislation, welfare and social security measures, free education for children till university, quality and free healthcare, creation of job opportunities, violence-free homes for women and comprehensive development programmes.

"With the silver jubilee of Women's Voice, we must rededicate ourselves to the liberation of all women to attain `equality, development and peace' at all levels. We must strive to make the State a violence-free State for women, poor and the marginalised," she said.

Ms. Manorama urged the Government to establish a State Human Rights Commission immediately. She urged the Government to increase and allocate resources for slum dwellers in the next budget and funds for the "Women's resource and crisis centre" of Women's Voice. She would donate Rs. 20 lakh from her prize money to this.

Former Minister V.S. Krishna Iyer lamented that the Women's Reservation Bill was still pending in Parliament.

He said the Bill should become an Act and 33 per cent reservation for women should be implemented.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka

News Update

Stories in this Section