Sunday, Mar 09, 2025 08:30 [IST]
Last Update: Saturday, Mar 08, 2025 16:27 [IST]
As the world
celebrates the 50th anniversary of International Women’s Day, I want to reflect
on how India is embarking on an inspiring journey from the era of women
development to a new dawn of women-led development. This transformation marks a
crucial distinction: development that includes women is an essential step that
provides women with access to opportunities, services, and spaces, ensuring
equality.
However,
women-led development goes beyond inclusion—it empowers women to take the reins
of leadership, drive innovation, and shape policies from the forefront.
There has been a
paradigm shift in the notion of the women empowerment, one that will go down in
history as India being a nation that emphatically declared women at the center
of development, shifting power dynamics so they can drive change themselves.
For all levels of government now, women are not just passive beneficiaries of
policies and programs but are the active change makers. India envisions a
future where women are at the heart of decision-making, leadership, and
execution of policies, businesses, and community initiatives, not only giving
strength to the empowerment of our nation but contributing to what our PM
advocates for “when women prosper, the world prospers”. The progress of women
gives strength to the empowerment of our nation.
India has always
cherished and upheld its rich traditions of female leadership, deeply ingrained
in its cultural and historical tapestry. In the ancient Vedic period, Gargi and
Maitreyi were philosophers who contributed to the Vedas, participated as equals
in debates with other philosophers, and served as symbols to how educational
opportunities were available to women even in those times. Women like Rani
Lakshmibai and Kittur Rani Chennamma symbolized India's regional diversity in
its freedom movement. Today, our Honorable President, ShrimatiDroupadiMurmu
holds the distinction of being the first person belonging to a tribal community
and the second woman to hold the office. Our Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan missions
were successful largely because of India’s stellar female scientists. They led
these positions because 43% of India’s graduates in Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) courses are women. The worldwide share of
female STEM graduates is around 30%. Today, women are leading in business,
medicine, and the armed forces. But the change isn’t restricted to these
fields.
Millions of
grassroot women are being empowered across India. The National Rural
Livelihoods Mission has nearly 11.5 million LakhpatiDidis, women who are
members of self-help groups (SHGs) and have an annual household income above
Rs. 1,00,000. The Drone Didi scheme aims to provide drones to 15000 selected Women SHGs during the period from 2024-25 to
2025-2026, to apply liquid fertilizers and pesticides to fields, spray
herbicides, manage water resources and irrigation by identifying areas that
need water and analyze soil quality and fertility. Since its inception, over
69% of the loans provided under the PM Mudra Yojana – the government’s
collateral free credit scheme – have gone to women. Nearly 80 percent women in
India have a bank account that they operate themselves. Programs like Swachh
Bharat Mission (SBM) and JalJeevan Mission have benefitted nearly 100 million
and 122 million households, providing access to toilets and tap water,
respectively, benefiting millions of women. Under the Prime Minister’s rural
housing program, 74 percent of houses have been registered either solely or
jointly in women’s names. The
government’s program to distribute free gas cylinders has helped 103 million
women get access to smoke free kitchens. As of May 2024, over 1.4 million women
were elected members of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), which includes the
position of Sarpanch. This makes up 46% of the total elected representatives of
PRIs. Women Sarpanches have been involved in projects to improve water, solar
power, paved roads, toilets, and banks in their villages.
To
enable women with voice and agency to lead, an extra push is required. Our
government has demonstrated commitment to this agenda through landmark
legislations such as the Women’s
Reservation Bill that guarantees 33% of all seats in the directly elected
LokSabha and State Assemblies. The amendment to the Maternity Benefit Act guarantees women with paid maternity leave
for up to 26 weeks. Initiatives like the Women's
Helpline and SHe-Box provide
support to women in distress while the Special
Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) aims to setup 1000 Working Women Hostels across the country
thereby fostering economic independence.
The
Honorable Prime Minister’s clarion call for women led development during
India’s G20 presidency has been endorsed by Brazil during its presidency in
2024. It is our nation’s commitment towards harnessing the full potential of
our women, recognizing their invaluable contribution, and celebrating their
role as leaders in the journey towards progress and prosperity. Let's come
together and unite for #AccelerateAction, leading the charge to shape the
future of India. Join hands, embrace change, and be a part of this inspiring
journey towards progress and empowerment.
(Smt. Annpurna Devi is Union Minister of Women and Child Development,
Government of India. A PIB feature)
