Women Empowerment is close to CM Ashok Gehlot’s heart
Swami Vivekananda said that there is no chance for the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is improved. The first Prime Minister of our country Pt Jawaharlal Nehru rightly said that to awaken the people, it is the woman who should be awakened first, once she takes the first step and moves forward, the whole family moves forward and the nation moves. There is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women. CM Ashok Gehlot’s commitment and intention also have always been for the empowerment of women in the state. It is his keen wish to see the strong participation of women along with men in the development process to ensure the inclusive growth of society. It is also a popular and effective way of development and leads to sustainable progress.
Gehlot believes that without the cooperation of women, which constitutes half of the population, the development and progress of any society, state or country cannot even be thought of. The dynamic thinking of the CM is reflected in the many strategies and processes started by the state government to bring women into the mainstream of development during his three tenures as the CM of Rajasthan.
Under the progressive leadership of Gehlot, various schemes are being implemented in the state to promote the honour, dignity and safety of women at all levels. New policies for women’s upliftment and empowerment have been brought in place as per the need of time, while at the same time changes have been made in the old policies to meet the challenges and changing scenario. It was Gehlot only who presented the first GenderBased Budget in the year 2012-13. Similarly, two women’s policies have also been issued in the state during his tenure. The CM’s confidence in the administrative ability of women is also evident from the fact that two women chief secretaries in the state have also been appointed during the tenure of his government.
The CM believes that the times have changed. Now women cannot be kept confined in a purdah. He even said during a public programme that until the purdah system is not given up, women will never be able to move forward. He called upon the women and said that they will have to move forward with courage and determination. At every step, they will find the state government supporting and standing with them. The state government, under the leadership of Ashok Gehlot, has taken effective steps to stop the incidents of atrocities against women. An officer of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police has been deputed in each district, who would look after the cases related to harassment of women. To ensure that no girl child is deprived of education, girl child education has been made free in the state.
Several programmes, schemes and policies are being implemented in the state to empower women to enhance their social and economic status and also to involve them in development activities. At the same time efforts have been made to safeguard their health. The CM said that the state government will leave no stone unturned to empower women.
Gehlot launched five schemes of Indira Mahila Shakti (IM Shakti) on the completion of the first year of the state government, to strengthen women and make them self-reliant. A fund IM Shakti Nidhi worth one thousand crores for five years was created in the name of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from where women and self-help groups would be able to get loans up to one crore rupees to make them economically independent.
According to the chief minister, an educated woman is the foundation for the progress of the entire family. He strongly believes that enhancing the education status of women is a must for securi n g their rightful place in society. In the four budgets presented by Gehlot so far, many announcements have been made to promote education from villages to dhanis. If there are more than 500 girls in the higher secondary classes of a school, a provision has been made to open a women’s college there. Over 33 new women’s colleges have been opened in the last three years. To encourage girl child education, schemes like Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Swarnim Udan Yojana, Aapki Beti Yojana, Gargi Protsahan and Balika Protsahan Yojana are being implemented.
The State Women Policy of 2021 has been implemented to empower women and provide them with a conducive environment to ensure equality, security, participation and other rights of women and girls in society. Under this policy, the focus has been on the overall development of women and girl children. It aims to ensure their survival and access to quality health and nutritional services. It also promotes empowerment by supporting their economic, political and social well being. Necessary steps in areas such as preparation of a roadmap on issues of gender-responsive budgeting and gender transformative approach have been taken to protect them.
While launching the State Women’s Policy, Gehlot had said that the women’s policy would inspire crores of women of the state to move forward in every field. This policy will prove to be a milestone in the direction of women’s empowerment.
The Jagriti-Back to Work Yojana has been started for working women who have to leave the job many times after marriage to take care of the family and for other reasons. Under the scheme, the state government, with the help of the private sector, would provide opportunities to such women to get jobs again or work from home. About 15,000 women will be provided opportunities for re-job or “work from home”, with the help of the private sector in the next three years.
The IM Shakti Udan Yojana has been implemented by the state government to give wings to the dreams of women to keep their health in priority. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s message is that “menstruation” is not a disease, nor is it a matter of shame and hesitation. Society has to change its thinking now, we have to protect the health of women. It is a necessary step in the direction of the dignity, respect and privacy of women. In the first phase of the “UDAN” scheme, free distribution of 12 sanitary napkins per month to about 26 lakh girl students studying in upper primary, secondary and higher secondary government schools of the state and about three lakh adolescent girls in the age group of 18-45 at 1 to 10 identified Anganwadi centres in rural areas was done. In the second phase of the scheme, sanitary napkins will be provided free of cost to all adolescent girls and women in the age group of 18-45 years at Anganwadi centres and other places in all gram panchayats of the state.
Several important announcements have also been made for women in the budget year 2022-23. To provide education facilities to the girl child near home and reduce the dropouts in schools, 389 secondary level, one thousand 846 upper primary level schools and 115 primary level Girls Schools in the state would be upgraded on a merit basis in a phased manner. Along with this, to provide better facilities for higher education to the girls, it has been announced to open 36 Girls’ colleges in 19 districts of the state. Apart from this, it has been proposed to upgrade Government Women’s Colleges, Taranagar-Churu and Sarwad-Ajmer to PG colleges and to open new subjects and faculties in 25 Girls’ colleges. Savitri Bai Phule Girls Hostels will be opened to promote girl child education. Under this, hostels will be opened in Jaisalmer Chordi-Dausa Nagola (Bhinay)-Ajmer, Tonk, Balotra-Barmer and Chitalwana(Sanchore)-Jalore during the current financial year.
Similarly, it has been proposed to identify separate places for women and build W-Hubs in the Rajiv Gandhi Knowledge Service & Innovation Hubs that are to be opened in Jaipur, Jodhpur and Kota for Rs 200-200 crores to provide the Plug & Play Facility to the service sector, MSMEs and Startups at affordable rates. Besides, it has been proposed to start Chief Minister Work from HomeJob Work for women who can contribute to the livelihood of their families by doing work from home. Over 20,000 women are proposed to be benefitted under this scheme in the current financial year and Rs 100 crore will be spent under the scheme.
The scope of the Indira Gandhi Maternity Nutrition Scheme started in the year 2020-21 for Pratapgarh, Banswara, Udaipur, Dungarpur and Baran districts has been enlarged. It has been announced to implement the scheme in the entire state. About 350,000 pregnant women will be benefited every year and Rs 210 crore will be spent under the scheme.
To provide information about welfare schemes and benefits of government facilities to the eligible families sitting at home, it has been proposed to start the Chief Minister Digital Services Scheme. Under this, it has been announced that women heads of about one crore 33 lakh Chiranjeevi families will be provided smart phones with three years of internet connectivity. An annual expenditure of Rs 2,500 crore will be made under the scheme. This will also provide the facility of quick redressal of grievances along with getting all kinds of services.
