SP announces Stree Samman Samriddhi Yojna, eyes women voters ahead of 2027

The Samajwadi Party on Wednesday, August 26, announced that it would roll out a new welfare initiative, the 'Stree Samman Samriddhi Yojna', aimed at improving women's access to education and employment, should it come to power in Uttar Pradesh following the 2027 Assembly elections.

The announcement was made at a press conference in Lucknow addressed by party president Akhilesh Yadav and Mainpuri MP Dimple Yadav. "Women's power will develop not merely by talking about it, but by giving women true representation. Respect and prosperity of every woman included in the PDA as 'Aadhi Abadi' (women) is our resolve," Dimple Yadav said.

Explaining the thinking behind the scheme's name, she said the word "Stree" was deliberately chosen over terms like "girl", "young woman" or "woman", which tend to indicate a specific age bracket. "Stree", by contrast, represents the gender as a whole, making the scheme applicable to women across all age groups, she said. She also explained the sequencing of "Samman" (respect) before "Samriddhi" (prosperity) in the scheme's name, arguing that respect must precede prosperity as the foremost guarantee owed to every woman, regardless of her social or economic standing.

"She deserves respect simply because she is a woman. Social empowerment and strengthening her position require respect even before prosperity," she said, adding that economic empowerment remained equally vital in enabling women to become self-reliant and contribute financially within their households. "The economic strength of a woman itself is her empowerment," she said.

According to Yadav, the scheme will be rolled out in phases, with its implementation and outcomes reviewed periodically to allow for course correction where needed. She said the party's approach would combine mobile phones, laptops, financial assistance, education and training to help women build independence and confidence over time.

"We will create a path towards respect and prosperity through mobile phones, laptops, financial assistance, education and training, which will gradually teach women to stand on their own feet with dignity and confidence," she said, adding that economic empowerment would play a central role in improving women's overall quality of life.

Yadav said the scheme would begin with financial assistance of Rs 40,000, an amount she said would be increased annually going forward. She described the initiative as a reflection of the party's "positive thinking" towards women, who make up half the population represented by the "A" in the SP's PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) formulation.

The announcement was timed to coincide with Women's Equality Day, observed annually on August 26 in the United States to mark the adoption of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution in 1920, which granted American women the right to vote.

(With inputs from PTI)