IMPHAL, February 24: A consultative meet on Empowerment of vulnerable and marginalised women in difficult circumstances in the state of Manipur was held on Monday at the Classic Hotel.
Padmaja Mehta and Rashmi Singh, sr. economic advisor and executive director respectively in the Ministry of Women and Child and National Mission for Empowerment of Women; Surender A Shishak, deputy director of Social Welfare; Meira Paibi leader Lourembam Nganbi, chairperson of Manipur state commission for women Dr L Ibetombi, Joint Secretary Tribal Affairs Armstrong Pamei and Binalakshmi Nepram, founder of Manipur Women Gun Survivor Network and secretary general of Control Arms foundation of India were the presidium members.
“Poverty is high since 1950 but after development it has reduced but hasn’t properly brought upliftment in the state. Vulnerable groups were considered in the 12th Plan and as a result SCs, STs, OBCs, differently able people, people living with HIV, single women, widows and many others benefitted,” Padmaja said, appealing civil society organisations to help and give awareness about the scheme to many others.
Manipur is located in a border area and trafficking in the North- East is rampant so the NGOs and police personnel should protect them. People should benefit from schemes such as Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and other educational schemes. There should be 33% reservation of women in Panchayats, she added.
Rashmi Singh stated that the ability to bring changes lies in the empowerment of women. Women work hard but don’t get so much money. Women work more in comparison to men but they are paid less. It is time to bring women to the level of men.
“Women should be made aware of their rights. The National Policy for Empowerment, 2001 has provisions on protection of women in the country. Many laws against domestic violence exist. Common platform is needed for the NGOs and people should work collectively,” she said, adding that sharing information with the public is needed for giving benefits to women and society.
“Women are very powerful in the state and they are in the fore front when any crime happens in any parts of Manipur. Psychological empowerment of women is necessary. There are a lot of projects and frameworks in the country but there is no proper implementation,” Amstrong Pamei said, appealing NGOs and civil societies to make people aware of things they don’t know.
On the other hand, Ibetombi said that poverty is limitless in the country and social workers are actively involved in any of the issues.
People should be aware of the schemes of the centre. Many organisations are trying to do so many things but a big communication gap exists in the state, she added.