Exhorting upon women who are seen as homemakers in Indian society to participate in ‘nation building’, the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Saturday promised them a host of opportunities and security for their empowerment if the BJP was voted to power.
The occasion was the International Women’s Day and the promises came during Modi’s chai pe charcha where the prime ministerial hopeful sought to instil a sense of security among Indian women across the world. Modi touched upon a wide range of issues — from freedom of birth to economic independence and from literacy to safety and security of women. The Gujarat Chief Minister emphasised that gender discrimination in Indian society was the biggest impediment in women empowerment and said a ‘no compromise’ attitude was must in bringing about a change in mindset of common populace. “Gender discrimination is the biggest challenge as the female fraternity faces it in every household since the time of their birth. We need to develop a ‘no compromise’ attitude over issues concerning women,” he said.
On Saturday Modi interacted with lakhs of women in various Indian cities and abroad who sought to know his vision for empowering women in all walks of life. A majority of women comprising professionals, sportspersons and home-makers expressed their deep concerns over growing incidents of rape, female foeticide, domestic violence, harassment at workplaces and other forms of sexual abuse and demanded an effective mechanism to curb the menace.
“The existing laws have failed to curb the incidents of rape and domestic violence. No Government or police has been able to provide a secure environment to women,” rued Prerna Sharma, a woman professional from Saket in the national Capital while interacting with Modi. Similarly, a woman from Danapur in Bihar sought for measures to make police women-friendly so as to develop their trust in police.
Not only India but suggestions also came from Washington DC, Tokyo and Frankfurt where Indian women raised concerns over maternal deaths and poor healthcare infrastructure for women. While women from Washington sought from the Government recognition for victims of acid attacks and male atrocities as practiced in the US, a caller from Frankfurt praised the Gujarat Government for its initiatives, particularly compulsory girl’s education in the State.
Responding to their queries, Modi said the women should have the freedom to make choices about their career and marriage as also there should be more women in the legal profession as well as in the police force. “They (women) should have freedom of birth, freedom of education... freedom to choose time of marriage, freedom to choose a career. They should have a say in deciding the size of the family,” he said. Modi lamented that women were actively participating in several economic activities like agriculture, handicrafts, teaching and nursing but they were not given due recognition which, he said, was another grave challenge. The BJP leader cited examples from his Government in Gujarat saying women should have greater role in running cottage and small scale industries and promised them a platform for global marketing of their products if the BJP formed a government at the Centre.
In Delhi, women interacted with Modi from 81 locations on the second round of Chai Pe Charcha. These included tea stalls in rural areas like Narela, Bawana and Najafgarh as well as upscale areas like Vasant Vihar, Jor Bagh and lodhi Road, among others. A number of women professionals, including former Indian cricketer Anjum Chopra were present with Modi at the BJP headquarters in the Capital from where Modi interacted with people via video conferencing. The Chai Pe Charcha programme is an effort by the BJP to woo voters ahead of lok Sabha elections, in context of Modi’s references to his humble origins as a ‘tea seller’ and the attacks by some Opposition parties on him on this issue. The first interaction was held on February 12 where Modi had shared his vision for good governance.