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Women’s access to education a pressing issue, says Gurjar

Photo: T. Singaravelou

For the record: Lieutenat Governor Govind Singh Gurjar handing over a marriage registration certificate to a couple in Puducherry on Wednesday. —

PUDUCHERRY: Lieutenant Governor Govind Singh Gurjar has said that the need of the hour was to create awareness among the rural population of the importance of women’s education.

He was speaking at a function organised by the Puducherry Women’s Commission to distribute marriage registration certificates here on Wednesday.

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“The female literacy rate is 72.9 per cent in urban areas and 46.1 per cent in rural areas. Women’s education helps in the development of half the human resource of our country. Educated women not only tend to play a crucial role in preventing societal concerns such as female infanticide but also in reducing infant mortality rate,” Mr. Gurjar said.

He pointed out that women constituted almost half of the population of the nation and the most pressing issue was the access to education.

The Women’s Commission could consider including women’s education and benefits as part of its future awareness programmes.

“India has the world’s largest number of professionally qualified women. There are more women doctors, scientists and professors in India than the United States. The country has more working women than any other country in the world and this reflects the flair and versatility of modern urban Indian women,” he said.

The Supreme Court had made it mandatory for all States and Union Territories to notify the rules for compulsory registration of marriage.

“Many marriages go unregistered as people are unaware of the procedure or do not know the significance of registration,” Mr. Gurjar said.

Marriage registration would serve as a deterrent to child marriages, save women from falling prey to bigamy and go a long way in addressing grievances of many suffering women and children.

Chief Minister V. Vaithilingam stressed the importance of marriage registration, while Social Welfare Minister M. Kandasamy said that the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act would be implemented in Puducherry in two weeks.

“There are 20,000 applications for marriage registration with the Commission. We will expedite the works and appoint a separate officer through the Revenue Department,” he added.

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