It is indeed my pleasure to associate myself with the Leadership Summit on Inclusive Growth and Empowerment of Women of rural India.  No nation or society can develop as long as half of its population remains neglected on almost all the parameters of human development index.   There are about 500 million females in India today, 150 million of whom are girls below 15 years.  Three quarters of the women live in villages.   

In the Indian tradition women have been given a very high status and are often compared with Lakshmi, Saraswati and Durga but when it comes to real practice, the behavior of the society is reverse.  In a family, women almost alone take care of all kinds of family and household chores but still their contribution is not fully recognized by the family and the society.   It is an irony that in calculation of our GDP also, their contributions in such activities are not taken into consideration.  The social maladies like dowry system, child marriage, honour killing and female foeticide add squarely to their problems.  It is surprising that the incidence of dowry and female foeticide are all prevalent also in the so-called educated classes.  That necessitates a re-look at our present education system.

Lack of access of women to proper information and health-care facilities have translated into high infant mortality rates, maternal mortality rates, reproductive diseases and a greater incidence of sexually transmitted diseases.  Gender discrimination leads to inadequate and low calorie food being given to women and girls in their own family, which often results in malnutrition and other health problems.  Women do not have right even on their own lives.  They are not in a position to exercise their rights to decide how many children they want.  

Education is another key factor in women empowerment.  While efforts are being made to ensure quick access to education for women and girls through initiative such as the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan, a great deal remains to be done to eliminate the discrimination within the system completely. Female drop-out rates are still very high at all levels of education.  In fact these problems persist due to wrong mindset which can be changed only by sustained campaign of awareness generation. 

In India, women employment is the highest in the traditional low wage activities like agriculture, forestry and fishing.  The underlying reality of low levels of education and skills among female workers confines them mostly to low paid and unskilled jobs compared to their male counterparts.  In agriculture, the backbreaking work of weeding usually is reserved for women at the lowest wage rate.  In the informal sectors where most women are employed and where little effective monitoring and control exist, women are being paid lower wages than men.  While women represent 48% of the total population of India, they constitute only 31% of the employment market.  Of this proportion, only 4.06% of the women are employed in the organized sector while the remaining 95.93% are employed in the unorganized sector.  Therefore, the ratio of women in the workforce is not in keeping with their share in the population.  Further whenever there is an economic recess, gender specific employment effect reveals that women bear the major brunt of the fall in employment in case of decline of exports. 

I am happy to say that our Hon’ble Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh Ji is deeply concerned about the problems of women and is committed towards solving them.  Special efforts are on to earmark at least 1/3^rd of all funds flowing into panchayats for development of women and children.  Besides this, microfinance institutions in general and self-help groups in particular have brought about a quantum leap in the field of financial and economic inclusion of rural women.  I would specifically like to mention about Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana which is being proposed as a sub-component of national rural livelihood mission. 

The Constitution stands in support of women. India was one of the first countries where women were given the right to vote. The Parliament has, over the years enacted several laws for their empowerment welfare and protection. The 73^rd and the 74^th amendments of the Constitution stand as a landmark initiative with regard to the political empowerment of women.   

While laws against cruelty to women, dowry harassment, domestic violence and rape have been passed by the Parliament and are being implemented, the only way to truly combat violence in the long term is if legislative protection is combined with the development of a social consciousness against it.  In fulfilling its commitment towards ensuring and monitoring the process of women’s empowerment, the Parliament set up in 1997 the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Empowerment of Women which works on almost all areas of legislation and other initiatives intended to bring about the empowerment of women. The Women’s Reservation Bill similarly holds many unrealized promises towards women’s political empowerment.

The current situation demands an integrated approach with strict target oriented goals which would ensure better education, vocational training and health related facilities, thus empowering rural women with multiple livelihood options suitable for the socio-economic set up. 

Before I conclude, I convey my best wishes to Smt. Krishna Tirath, the Ministry of Women and Child Development for all the new schemes they have started and which she has just mentioned. I also convey best wishes to other governmental and non-governmental bodies which are relentlessly working towards inclusive growth and empowerment of the women of rural India.

The 8^th of March is the International Women’s Day. I extend my greetings and good wishes to all of you on this occasion.

Thank you so much.