"The birth of a girl is a reason for celebration, not pain and if they disappear tomorrow, nature's balance will go haywire," Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said on Friday.
"How can you bow your head before a female deity and then kill another female in a wombIJ How can you resort to violence against a woman in the family who practically runs the household, the community and the world," she said, addressing a function at Talkatora Stadium in the Capital on the occasion of Women's Day.
Dikshit appealed to people to respect women and stop all forms of violence against them. "I urge all brothers assembled here on this solemn occasion to go and protect women and not obliterate them," she said. She congratulated women for having assembled in such a huge number in celebration of their womanhood and asked them to feel proud of themselves.
"We have gathered here to celebrate the existence of womanhood, and take back home the message from here that you are second to none. And, to men I would say, do not underestimate the power of a woman," she added. The event was hosted by Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), and Department of Women and Child Development.
Minister of Social Welfare, Women and Child Development and Education, Kiran Walia, Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor and wife Sunanda Pushkar also attended the function. DCW chairperson Barkha Shukla Singh said, "Most of the violence against women is happening inside home. We are soon going to start awareness programmes especially for men.”
BJP's women workers vent ire on Tharoor's car
Union Minister Shashi Tharoor was on Friday heckled by BJP women workers, who were protesting against lack of safety for women, at a function here to mark International Women's Day. As Tharoor arrived at Talkatora stadium in his car to attend the function organised by Delhi Commission for Women, slogan-shouting members of BJP's Mahila Morcha blocked his way and banged their hands on his vehicle. Reacting to the incident, Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushkar said: "Why are they making noiseIJ What wrong has he doneIJ It is told that they have damaged his car.”