Harsimrat Badal: Need to safeguard women rights, opportunities

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 30

Former Union Cabinet Minister and SAD leader Harsimrat Badal today attended an event hosted by FICCI FLO chapter on women empowerment based on the theme of “Aatmanirbhar Betiyan” (self-reliant daughters).

Talking about the transformation of Punjab from its infamous status of kudi maar suba (female foeticide state) towards the state that protects and nurtures its daughters, she said through her non-profit initiative “Nanhi Chhaan”, she has managed to make 13,000 girls across the state self-reliant through skill development.

“When I started the initiative in 2008, my aim was kukh tey rukh di rakhi (protection of womb and trees). Through our Nanhi Chhaan centres, we have distributed around 30-35 lakh saplings as boota parshad and provide skill training and support to women and girls across rural areas in the state.”

Taking a jab at the Bhagwant Mann run-AAP government, she said, “They have cheated the women of the state with a false promise of giving them Rs 1,000 per month. Not a single woman has received a single penny from the government in these five months. All money is being used for advertising and putting up huge hoardings of the AAP ministers.”

She also questioned the purpose of mohalla clinics, saying these clinics were of no use without doctors to treat the patients. “The way the ministers of AAP are misbehaving with doctors and government officials in the state, soon they will be responsible for the system and law and order collapse in the state,” she added.

She alleged that the AAP government had failed to perform in five months.

Speaking on the need to address crime against women, Harsimrat said, “New Delhi, a seat of national and state governance, has the worst record in women safety. Delhi leads the nation in rape, violence, abuse against women and dowry deaths. The country has achieved just 72 per cent female literacy in 75 years of Independence and the conviction rate in crimes against women is dismal. These issue needs to be resolved with a sense of urgency if we are to become a country of equal gender opportunity,” she said.

Members of the FICCI FLO chapter staged a play on gender discrimination and the event was dedicated to the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao mission. It was attended by schoolgirls.

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