Declaring that a plan was afoot to commission a women’s battalion in the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that women should come forward to raise their voice against atrocities as this government was committed to bringing them at par with men.
“Women play a pivotal role in the development of society as they are the one who face inequality but never complain about it. Time has changed now. Women should raise their voice against atrocities because the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Uttar Pradesh will not tolerate injustice against them,” Yogi said at a function where Rani laxmibai Bravery Awards and Begum Akhtar Awards were given away in lucknow on Thursday.
The Chief Minister said that the BJP government was even commissioning a women’s battalion in PAC of Uttar Pradesh Police.
He did not elaborate when actually it would be commissioned.
“The government has already started women helpline numbers 181 and 1090 to provide security to the fairer sex. Through other schemes like Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, the government is promoting girls’ education and now the numbers of girls in schools has gone up. The time has come to end discrimination between girls and boys. An end to this inequality will bring a positive change in society,” he said.
Yogi spoke at length about the role women played in the freedom struggle and how women brought about social reforms despite facing all odds.
“Women representatives should take more responsibility in rural development. They should look into the needs of children and women and try to resolve their problems,” he said. The Chief Minister also declared that the government had launched Shabri Yojana to end malnutrition and free education was being imparted to students up to graduation level.
At least 129 women were felicitated with Rani laxmibai Award. The winners were given a citation and Rs 1 lakh each.
On this occasion, the Chief Minister also felicitated Pt Dharamnath Mishra and Ustad Sakhawat Hussain with Begum Akhtar Award for the year 2017-18 and handed them citation and Rs 5 lakh each.