The Hindu : Sonia calls for `gigantic mobilisation' of women

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 02, 2002

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Sonia calls for `gigantic mobilisation' of women

By Our Special Correspondent

The Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, at the party's Women Empowerment Convention in New Delhi on Tuesday. — Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

NEW DELHI OCT. 1. Elected women representatives of the Congress from Parliament to panchayats today resolved to press for the passage of the Constitutional amendment to reserve one-third seats in Parliament and State Legislatures for women, and took upon itself the mandate of making all States ruled by it more gender-sensitive.

A resolution to this effect was passed at the day-long Mahila Sashaktikaran Adhiveshan that was organised by the Congress here to mobilise the "stree shakti (women's power)'' in the party to strengthen it at the grassroots. Elected representatives of the party attended the convention to ``further empower themselves so that they can fulfil their Constitutional obligations more effectively''.

Inaugurated by the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, the session ended with the adoption of the charter that is to be implemented by the 14 States where the party is in power, and also serve as its agenda for political action in the future. In her inaugural address, Ms. Gandhi said today's convention was not an end in itself, but ought to be the beginning of a mass movement - "a gigantic mobilisation of women''. Of the view that no movement for development would be complete with just the participation of one section of society, she said men, too, should be mobilised in the national effort towards growth and equity.

According to Ms. Gandhi, generating awareness among women about their rights should become a priority area for public action as it cannot be left to the bureaucracy or the administration. "It has to be an essential feature of political mobilisation. Unless women's issues form an integral part of the political agenda at all levels, we will not accomplish much,'' she said, adding for good measure that gender issues ought to be brought into the core of the political debate.

Also, the Congress president made out a strong case for women in conflict management and preservation of social peace. The resolution also articulates the party's determination to launch a movement for the implementation of social legislation pertaining to dowry, atrocities on women, sati, widow welfare and minimum wages. Other resolutions include earmarking of 30 per cent of all funds flowing into panchayats and nagarpalikas for women's development programmes, setting up of family courts in all Congress-ruled States at the earliest, and generating awareness among women about their rights.

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