Govt working for consensus on Women's Bill -- Vajpayee

Govt working for consensus on Women's Bill -- Vajpayee
SANTWANA BHATTACHARYA

NEW DELHI, JAN 4: Reiterating the need to push forward policies giving women equal access to economic resources and political decision-making, Prime Minister A.B.Vajpayee today said that his government was still working towards a consensus on the Women's Reservation Bill.

``The government has not conceded defeat and will continue efforts to evolve a consensus among political parties on providing 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies,'' Vajpayee said.

He was giving away the newly-instituted Stree Shakti awards to four women for their outstanding contribution in the field of education of tribal women,the disabled, for environment protection and social welfare.

``The majority in Parliament is in support of reservation for women, the dispute is only over distribution of reservation. So, women need not doubt our intentions,'' Vajpayee said declaring 2001 as the Year of Women Empowerment.

Admitting that women were handicapped by unequal distribution of wealth and lack of access to resources, Vajpayee said that the government has to take policy initiatives to hasten social change.

He expressed the hope that when the Stree Shakti awards are presented next year, the matter of 33 per cent would have been resolved.

``There is a need to create an environment to hasten social change for gender equality. Women have to have the right to freedom of choice just likemen,'' Vajpayee said.

Indicating that a number of laws needed to be changed to bring about a more equitable distribution of resources, including access to health service, education and safeguard against violence, Vajpayee said the government is going to come out soon with a comprehensive National Policy on Women.

Speaking on the occasion, Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi said a large part of women's hard work (in domestic activities) go unrecognised. ``Therefore, women's contribution to the GDP remains zero. It's going to be an arduous task to correct the anomaly and bring about gender equality in such a situation,'' he said.

Minister of State for Women and Child Development Sumitra Mahajan said that the awards were an indicator of the positive work being done by the women at grassroots.

Physically-challenged K.V. Rabiya got the award for spearheading an adult literacy programme in the backward Malappuram district in Kerala, Chinnapillai from Madurai got it for organising collective farming among the women in her tribal community.

And Brahmacharini Kamala Bai for promoting education among girls in the backward area of Nagaur, Rajasthan. And weather-beaten Kinki Devi for stalling environment degradation of the Simour hills in Himachal Pradesh.