Freedom movement laid solid foundation for gender equality in India: President Ram Nath Kovind
New Delhi, May 26
President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday said the Indian freedom movement laid a solid foundation for gender equality and the country had since come a long way with women shattering the glass ceiling across sectors.
Speaking at the inauguration of the National Women Legislators’ Conference, 2022, in Thiruvananthapuram, the President recalled the stellar role of women in the struggle for Independence and spoke about how the founders of the Constitution gave the right to vote to every citizen regardless of gender, while women in the US, the UK and many European nations had to wait for long before they could vote.
The President hailed India’s accomplishment of offering universal franchise to all adult citizens regardless of distinctions, right at the inception, saying women in the world’s oldest modern democracy, the United States, had to wait for more than a century after its independence to win the right to vote.
“Their sisters in the United Kingdom also waited nearly as long. Even after that, many economically advanced nations of Europe refrained from granting voting rights to women. In India, however, there was never a time when men could vote but women could not.
“This shows two things. First, the framers of the Constitution had a deep faith in democracy and in the wisdom of the masses. They considered every citizen as a citizen, and not as a woman or a member of a caste or tribe, and held that each of them must have an equal say in shaping our common destiny.
“Second, from ancient times, this land has seen woman and man as equals – indeed, as incomplete without each other,” the President noted.
He said the women were shattering the glass ceiling across domains, with their enhanced role in the armed forces.
“Their numbers are rising in the traditional male bastions of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and management. There must have been more women than men among the ‘corona warriors’ who guarded the nation during the crisis,” the President said, lauding Kerala for more-than-its-fair share of contribution when it comes to health-care personnel.
Saluting the role of women freedom fighters, including Rani Laxmibai, Kasturba Gandhi, Sarojini Naidu, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya, Bhikaji Cama and Captain Lakshmi Segal and her associates in the Indian National Army led by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, the President said many inspiring names come to mind when remembering the contributions of women.
He, however, added that while such achievements should have been natural for women who constitute about half of the population, that was not the case.
“We have to admit that they have suffered from deep-rooted social prejudices. Their proportion in the workforce is nowhere near their potential. This sad state of affairs is, of course, a worldwide phenomenon,” he said.
India has had at least one woman prime minister, he said, adding that there has been one woman too, among his illustrious predecessors in Rashtrapati Bhavan, when several nations are yet to have their first woman head of state or government.”
The President said, “The challenge before us is that of mindset change, which is never easy.”
