Women empowerment need of the hour

Medak Collector Bharati Hollikeri talks about the need to empower women socially, economically and politically on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

Excerpts:

What is your message to women on this special day?
‘Be bold for change,’ this is our motto and message this year, to girls/women for International Women’s Day-2017. No society can progress if women are not socially, economically and politically empowered. Girls need to be made part of the decision-making mechanism which is still lacking in our society. They are working, but are not empowered to the extent they need to be. Girls/women shouldn’t wait for someone to come and develop them. They are the masters of their own destiny.

What are the activities of the District Administration being conducted to empower women on all-fronts?
There is a lot to be done in terms of education and health of girl children and women. In Kowdipally mandal we are doing a capacity building programme using health workers as a pilot project, which will be extended to all other mandals in the district.

Through proper ANC registrations in rural areas with convergence of Anganwadi workers and Health officials, we are striving to achieve 100 per cent institutional deliveries in government hospitals. We are also trying to avoid C-section deliveries and to achieve maximum normal deliveries as possible.

We are also teaming-up with NGOs to help girl children who pass VIII and IX Classes understand their bodies, plan for their careers and be ready to face any kind of situations. This is being planned for next month. To encourage women farmers to go for organic farming, we are also going to start ‘Women Farmers’ Federation’ soon.

We are also planning to setup food parks in the district to encourage women entrepreneurs to develop economically.

I hope women celebrate their motherhood on this special day. Even men should celebrate this day as every man will have some woman who is important to him in his life.