Women in villages must get access to opportunities: Justice Ranjana P Desai

To mark International Women’s Day (IWD 2025), a three-day national-level convention on ‘Women in India’ began at OP Jindal Global University on Saturday.

Justice Ranjana P Desai, former judge, Supreme Court of India, and Chairperson, Press Council of India, as a guest of honour at the inaugural session said, “It is the duty of every citizen of India to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women. In The Supreme Court, there are several judgments which have brought the women's right to equality. We can't deny that women in India were victims of restrictions imposed by society. These restrictions were the outcome of long cultural interpretation.”

Earlier, women were vulnerable and dependent on men. Lack of education further increased their dependence, she said. Today, we have women in all spheres, as judges and lawyers, entrepreneurs, Chief Ministers, soon there will be Supreme Court Chief Justice and even astronauts.

“We have had women Prime Ministers across all South Asian countries. But we have to make sure that our sisters in the villages and rural areas are not left behind and it is our duty to ensure that they also get access,” the former justice said.

Shallu Jindal, Chairperson, Jindal Foundation, at the inaugural session on the theme “Equality, emancipation and empowerment” stated that, “We must recognise and celebrate the contributions of women to our nation's history, economy and society that enabled us to visualise a world of equality, emancipation and empowerment.”

Equality, empowerment and emancipation are not just ideas, but realities for every woman in India, we must also acknowledge the pioneering women who contributed to the drafting of the Indian constitution.

Professor Christiana Ochoa, Dean and Herman B Wells Endowed Professor, Maurer School of Law, Indiana University, in her address said, “The expansion of access to education, the growing participation of women in public life, and the evolution of economic opportunities have fundamentally reshaped the status of women in societies around the world. In the United States, the increase in women's access to higher education over the last century is directly associated to their rise in leadership positions across politics, business and civil society.

The founding Vice Chancellor of OP Jindal Global University, Professor (Dr) C Raj Kumar, highlighted the importance of gender equality.

The National Convention on Women in India towards ‘Equality, emancipation and empowerment is being organised with the spirit of bringing together a multitude of voices, experiences and insights for creating a platform that can be a catalyst for driving meaningful change.