Just like charity begins at home, women’s empowerment should begin at home. Children should be taught to respect their mothers and sisters from an early age, emphasised General Manager (Network-1) of State Bank of India (SBI) Odisha Circle Pulak Kumar Sinha here on Sunday. Speaking at the Odisha Women’s Conclave-2015 organised by the Ever Green Forum on the occasion of the International Women’s Day, Sinha said women today are not only achievers but are super achievers in different fields. However, seldom do well-behaved women make news while a Nirbhaya case grabs the headlines for the wrong reasons.
Former Chairperson of Odisha State Commission for Women Jyoti Panigrahi said women’s representation is still very low in the Parliament and Assemblies in India compared to the other countries of the world. Women are still afraid to venture outside the homes. Education is a necessity to know about the different forums available to get justice against the crimes against them, she said.
However, there was a flutter in the audience when Bhubaneswar Mayor Ananta Naryan Jena, who arrived very late for the function, rudely stopped senior Congress leader and former Minister of Women and Child Development Saraswati Hembram when she was going to deliver her speech and release the souvenir.
A visibly flustered Hembram, a tribal woman leader, became speechless and quietly took her seat. A member in the audience, however, quipped that this is despite BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik always parroting about women’s empowerment and respect to tribals and womenfolk. Among others, former Chairperson of State Welfare Board Sulata Deo also spoke on the occasion. Some women achievers like Iti Samanta, Trupti Das and Dutee Chand were bestowed with the Odisha Women’s Award for their contributions in their respective fields.