Give women freedom to exercise choices at home, workplace:Prez

Minds of women should be empowered and conditions must be created for them to freely exercise choices at home and in the workplace, President Pranab Mukherjee said today on the occasion of International Women's Day.
Presenting the 'Nari Shakti Award' to 15 women and seven institutions for their exceptional contribution to women empowerment, the President said the mindset of our people must evolve and they must realise it is in society's own interest to allow freedom of choice to women.
Haryana was among the seven institutional awardees for the state's improved child sex ratio.
"I often hear of women not being given the opportunity or permission to do something. I would say why wait for others to give you what is your right. The minds of our women should be empowered.

"The mindset of our people must evolve. They must realise that it is in society's own interest to create conditions for women to freely exercise choices at home and in the workplace without restrictions or fear," Mukherjee said.
The awardees included journalist, environmentalist, social worker, lawyer, human rights activist picked by a select committee.

"Each awardee is an inspiration, does India proud, and is a trailblazer in her innovation... These women have a history of overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles through courage and foresight to bring about positive change they wish to see in the world," Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said at the event.

Fifteen women awardees are Sister Lucy Kurien, Priti Patkar, Shakuntala Majumdar and Jyoti Mhapsekar from Maharashtra; Vasu Primlani, Sumita Ghose, Anjali Sharma and Krishna Yadav from Delhi; Saurabh Suman from Bihar; Basanti Devi from Uttarakhand; Suparna Baksi Ganguly from Karnataka; Meena Sharma from Rajasthan; Uttra Parwar from Madhya Pradesh; Polumati Vijaya Nirmala from Andhra Pradesh; and Sujata Sahu from Haryana.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the progress of humanity is "incomplete without the empowerment of women" and the issue is no longer women development but "women-led development."
He cited various initiatives taken by the Union government to support women and made an appeal to people to consider gifting such schemes to women instead of gifting presents on festive occasions.

"The government is also working towards safety and security by exploring the provision of a panic button and smart phones that can come to the aid of women along with facilities like GPS," Modi said in a message posted on his website.
The Prime Minister said the Centre has decided that maternity benefits must reach every single mother and as per the scheme, every mother of a new-born will get a cash aid of Rs 6,000.
"This is aimed at reducing malnourishment among mothers so that health outcomes for upcoming generations can also be impacted positively. Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan also ensures free health check-ups which provide great convenience to pregnant women," he said.

The 9th of every month has been fixed for this free health check-up for pregnant women.
"The government is working towards ensuring employment opportunities, creating a conducive atmosphere for them at workplaces, ensuring motherhood and career prospects do not hamper each other and enabling more valuable contributions from women to the world at large," he said.
Modi said it is important to understand that "when it comes to multi task activities, nobody can beat women. Such is the strength and we must be very proud of it".
Talking about 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' campaign, he said there is a marked improvement in sex ratio not only in states like Haryana, but also at the overall national level.

"Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao is moving forward with rapid strides. This is no longer just a government programme. It has now become a campaign of public education. It has become a people's movement," the PM said.
The concern towards the future of our daughters led to the conception of the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana whose objective is to ensure much-needed financial security to them, he said.
"Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bandhan Yojana that was started to boost social security and life insurance has benefited women the most," Modi said.
The primary beneficiaries of the programmes of the government have been the poor, and even among the poor it has been the women, he said.

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana was conceived for those poor households in which our helpless mothers and daughters have been forced to inhale harmful smoke in their kitchens, he said.
Under this scheme about 1.75 crore deposit-free LPG connections have already been released against the ambitious overall target of 5 crore connections, Modi said.