Sir — This refers to the editorial, “A way to empower women” (December 31). The Union Government’s decision to increase maternity leave is an important step towards ensuring greater participation of women in the work force. This was a much-needed change, as it is predicated that six months of breastfeeding is important to combat malnutrition, diarrhoea and other diseases in infants and also to lower infant mortality rate.
The proposal to make mandatory crèches within a kilometre of the work place is the most practical one. A good crèche near or in the workplace can give working mothers and fathers the much-needed freedom and relief for doing some productive work.