India moved from paradigm of women’s development to women-led development: Irani at UNGA

Union Cabinet Minister for Textiles and Women, Child Development Smriti Irani said on Friday, October 2 that India has shifted from paradigm of women’s development to women-led development. While attending the United Nations (UN) meeting on 25th anniversary of the 4th World Conference on Women, the Union Minister said that in India, the centrality of gender equality is recognised in all aspects of government’s agenda.

She said, "Women numerically constitute half of humanity but their influence transfuses all dimensions of society, polity, and economy.”
 

Adding that India is now focussed on the inclusive growth as well as deep reforms that would bring about transformational changes, the Union Minister credited the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the same. She even talked about the reservation for women in India and noted that it ensured more than 1.3 million women are elected as representatives in leadership positions.

Smriti Irani said, "Reservation of seats for women in local governance in the situation has ensured that more than 1.3 million elected women representatives provide leadership in the formulation and implementing gender-sensitive public policies at the community level."

"More than 200 million women, have been brought into the formal banking system through the Government's Financial Inclusion Initiative. Innovative use of digital technologies has provided equal opportunity for women to access insurance, loans, and social assistance," she added

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Smriti Irani on gender parity

While addressing the issue of gender parity, Smriti Irani said that it is one of the highest priorities for the government to ensure gender parity in all aspects of life. From those pertaining to harassment at the workplace to the protection of women from domestic violence, the Union Minister mentioned several legislations in India that have contributed to being “strong enablers” of women empowerment. 

She added, "India today is attaching the highest priority to ensuring gender parity in all spheres of life and elimination on of all forms of gender-based discrimination. Several of our legislations such as those pertaining to sexual harassment of women at the workplace, protection of women from domestic violence, protection of children from sexual offences, and our criminal laws' amendments, have been strong enablers of women empowerment and protection of children especially girls, over the past six years."

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Image/Inputs: ANI