The Hindu : New Delhi News : “Majority of women are unaware of their legal rights”

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Saturday, Dec 22, 2007
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“Majority of women are unaware of their legal rights”

Staff Reporter

Intervention legal education programme for Scheduled Caste women held

— Photo: M. Moorthy

AWARENESS MEET: District and Sessions Judge V. Ramamurthy at a rights meet held at Kattur in Tiruchi on Friday.

TIRUCHI: A woman’s confidence to handle social and economic problems individually is an indicator of her awareness on equal rights, District and Sessions Judge, Tiruchi, V. Ramamurthy, said on Friday.

Addressing the inaugural of a 10-day ‘Intervention legal educationpogramme for Scheduled Caste women,’ organised by the Lalgudi-based St. Joseph’s Educational Trust at St. Philominal’s Middle School, Kattur, Mr. Ramamurthy said 70 per cent of the affected women did not seek legal remedy as they were not socially or economically independent or aware of their rights.

While women in the cities were able to exercise their rights, their counterparts in rural areas led a life of subjugation for which their special treatment of sons was the basic cause.

Sensitising participants to inheritance rights, he said though women could assume responsible positions in local bodies in large numbers owing to the implementation of 33 per cent reservation, those who executed their responsibilities on their own did not account for even one per cent.

Political affiliation should stop with affinity to ideals and women must safeguard their individuality.

On child rights, Mr. Ramamurthy said creating a situation for healthy growth was the responsibility of parents and the government. The government was obliged to provide children in rural areas with good school buildings.

The need for nutritious food was fulfilled through supply of essential commodities through ration shops at concessional rates.

Infringement

He called upon parents to realise that pressuring children to spend all time on study without letting them play was tantamount to infringement on their rights.

Children subjected to such a situation faced difficulties in transforming into good parents and citizens.

Self-help-groups and non-government organisations had a vital role in checking the practice of untouchability, he said.

Presiding over the meeting, T. Jayanthi Ranee, advocate and member of the Child Welfare Committee, Tiruchi, said women, while exercising their own rights in family situations, must develop a mindset of doing their part to structure equality in society.

S. Santhakumari Solomon, Tiruverumbur Union Chairman; S. Vijaya Sekar, Papakuruchi Panchayat president; S. Usha, Child Development Project Officer, Tiruverumbur; and P.S.J. Leo Lawrence, Managing Trustee, St. Joseph’s Educational Trust, offered felicitations.

The programme, supported by the National Human Rights Commission, encompasses orientation sessions and feedback on vital topics including legal rights of women relating to marriage and divorce, culture and political status of women, State programmes for health and nutrition of adolescents and mothers, introduction to yoga and meditation, introduction of National Commission for Minorities and violence against women and Scheduled Caste Women.

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