Kerala - Kochi   

Kudumbasree has lost sheen: Mayor

KOCHI: Kudumbasree units are not functioning properly owing to lack of cohesion among members, Mayor Mercy Williams has said.

Talking after inaugurating the Women’s Day celebrations jointly organised by the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS -Kochi Urban) and the Ernakulam General Hospital under the aegis of the Kerala State Social Welfare Department on Saturday, Ms. Williams said that the movement had lost its initial sheen.

The number of members in each unit was being lowered progressively owing to lack of unity, she said.

Ms. Williams said that if women were to improve their situation they should be brave and courageous and men must be prepared to change their attitude towards them.

Stating that women were still living in fear, Ms. Williams said that legislation alone would not protect women.

“Can mothers confidently say they can defend their children against trafficking and eve teasing,” she asked referring to the theme - Survival to Success, Celebrate her Life, Girl Child Trafficking and Eve Teasing - of this year’s Women’s Day celebrations.

She said that a large number of women were leading depressed lives unable to reveal the horrors of domestic violence despite the enactment of law against domestic violence. Ms. Williams said that statistics revealed the prevalence of female foeticide in spite of the law forbidding it.

Presiding over the function, K.T. Remani, District Medical Officer, said that the male-to-female sex ratio of children in the age group 0 to 6 in the district, as per the 2001 census, was 1000:950.

The situation was more or less similar across the State, she said.

She said that the district medical authorities had registered about 120 scanning centres and carried out periodical inspections to ensure that they did not conduct pre-natal and pre-conception sex determination.

Earlier, Ms. Williams hoisted a flag marking the launch of the function.

Medical camps and exhibition were held as part of the celebrations. Classes on health, nutrition, girl child and education and women empowerment were also held. Seminars, discussions, workshops and training classes for women marked Women’s Day in the district.

Lizzie Jacob, former Chief Secretary, inaugurated a public meeting organised by the Ernakulam Social Service Society. Daniel Acharuparambil, Archbishop of Verapoly, presided over the meeting.

Aswas (Association of Single Women for Action and Self-help) organised a get-together of women and conducted training sessions to impart self-employment skills at Aswas Bhavan. Free homoeo medical camp was also held.

Renjini Suresh, Chairperson of Thripunithura Municipality, inaugurated an awareness workshop for women organised by the BPCL-Kochi Refinery at Ambalamukal. The workshop dealt with female health, self-confidence and legal awareness.

Mariamma Thomas, Director, Postal Services (Central Region), inaugurated a seminar on “protection of women from Domestic Violence Act 2005” organised jointly by the People’s Council for Social Justice and the YWCA.

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