Hyderabad, January 2
Voicing concern over growing instances of female foeticide in the country, President Pratibha Patil today called for a revamp of the education system to inculcate human values and a change in the attitude towards women.
Though women have stormed male bastions across myriad sectors and excelled in every field, they continued to face many challenges due to narrow-mindedness of some sections in society, Patil said while addressing a gathering after unveiling the statue of Maharaja Sri Agarsenji at Banjara Hills here.
The President was the chief guest at the special function where speakers recalled the contributions of the great social reformer and exhorted the youth to follow the ideals of Maharaja Agarsenji.
Maharaja Agarsenji had a great vision for society and fought against the social evils, Patil said adding: “His message is relevant even today. We need to follow his footsteps”.
Terming the practice of female foeticide as “heinous crime”, she called upon the people to change the attitude towards women. “What is more worrying is the fact that female foeticide is more prevalent among the educated and affluent sections,” the President said.
“Domestic violence, harassment at work place, oppressive attitude, gaps in education and employment opportunities are among some of the challenges being faced by women which we all need to address,” she said.
Patil said she was in favour of women being given equal rights in society and called for efforts to increase awareness among women about their constitutional rights.
Stating that proper education could play a vital role in changing the societal attitude towards women, she appealed to the people from various walks of life to take a vow to contribute their mite in the eradication of social evils like dowry, child marriage, female foeticide and alcoholism.
Calling for a revamp of the present education system, the President said it should be done in such a manner that apart from imparting academics, the students should be taught trade-skills enabling them to take up employment soon after completion of their education.
“There is an urgent need for imparting human values among youth to make them a responsible citizens,” Patil said adding that a nation could achieve overall development only when its citizens become more responsible.
“As India is positioning itself to become a global player, we need to concentrate on minimizing the gap between rich and poor and rending gender discrimination,” she said.
Such a goal could be achieved only if the society was focused on all-round development of all sections in society, Patil said.
While the government had launched several schemes for women empowerment, rural development, education and health, the voluntary organisations have a key role to play in taking the development message forward, she said.
In his address, Andhra Pradesh Governor ND Tiwari said Maharaja Agarsenji propagated values of non-violence, socialism, brotherhood and equality. “The youth of today should look upon Agarsenji as a role model and work towards betterment of society,” he said.
Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy, Minorities Welfare Minister Mohammad Ali Shabbeer and National President of All-India Vaishya Federation and Rajya Sabha member Girish Sanghi were among those present on the occasion.
