Women do not need token participation: Sitharaman

Women do not need token participation, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at an event conducted by the RSS linked organisation, Drishti Stree Adhyayan Prabodhan Kendra (DSAPK), on Tuesday.

"Women just need to come out of their comfort zones and take up challenges. They do not need token participation. They can ask for reservation but they also have to take challenges as well," Sitharaman said in the presence of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.

Appreciating the DSAPK for conducting a survey titled 'Status of women in India', the Finance Minister said: "The first government participation on comprehensive status of women in India was commissioned in 1975. Study of this complex subject is not easy. This organisation had gone to Naxalism affected area, which was not easy."

Sitharaman said: "There are challenges but women have the capacity to overcome them. Three factors that affect women the most -are access to education and health, opportunity and freedom to speak freely. Women need to have access to these three factors to empower themselves."

The survey conducted by DSAPK was released by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and other senior RSS functionaries.

The study was conducted from 2017 to 2018, across 29 states, five union territories, covering 465 districts, including 70 in border areas. Around 43,255 women from all major religions aged 18 years and above participated in the survey.