Violence on women in way of progress

kolkata: in our patriarchal society, tougher jobs are left for the women to do. they have been consciously kept away from technological advances. when chullahs were used for cooking, the women folk needed to clean them, keep them in good shape. but, when gas ovens came in and servicing became less cumbersome, men took over. it, then, became a man’s job.similarly, it is the women who have to spend all day bending down under the sun to plant seedlings in the fields. but when it comes to using tractors, the men are atop it. if you thought, this was the opinion of a woman with radical feminist ideas, you are grossly mistaken. it was actually mohammed salim, minister of minority affairs, speaking at a function organised by the state chapter of mahila dakshata samiti and west bengal pradeshik marwari mahila sammelan at the great eastern hotel on sunday. “no country can progress without the balanced development of both men and women, � said salim. suman krishan kant, all-india chairperson of the samiti and wife of vice-president krishan kant, social activist dr saroj bajaj, dolly basu, chairperson of the state unit of the samiti, vimla dokania, smriti dokania, pushpa badani and ratan shah were present at the programme. suman krishan kant gave away the pratibha samman to women for their achievements in their respective fields. vanita chamria, who set up a cement factory in purulia, was awarded for her enterprise. dr urmila kundalia lawyer saroj tulsiyan, architectural engineer swasti shah and sportswoman puja sipani were among the other recipients of the samman. “violence was a major hurdle for women’s empowerment. dowry has become a social menace. rape, sexual harassment in the workplace and abductions are proofs of society’s attitude towards women, said suman krishan kant. bajaj stressed on education for women which would inculcate moral values and security for them. the samiti runs about 150 family counselling centres all over the country, she said, because empowerment begins in the family. she urged for a change in attitude in order to check female foeticide, discrimination against women and other hurdles in the way of women empowerment.