‘Women’s minds must be empowered’

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 on Tuesday 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 President said.

The awardees included journalists, environmentalists, social workers, lawyers and human rights activists 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.