First Lady Air Marshal: 73rd Constitutional Amendment helped women to become policy makers

Tirupati, March 6: First Lady Marshal in India, Padma Bandopadhyay, on Sunday said that female elected representatives of gram panchayats were achieving a considerable success as women policy makers, after the enactment of 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act. The Padma Shri awardee and former Director-General of Medical Services, Air Force, New Delhi expressed her views at the Regional Webinar Meeting on ‘Empowerment of Women in Andhra Pradesh: Achievements and Challenges,’ organized by the Academy of Grassroots Studies and Research of India (AGRASRI) here, on the eve of the International Women’s Day celebrations. Delivering the address as Chief Guest, she said she believed that a Sarpanch at village level was the key policy maker, who provided a visionary plan and sustainable development at the grassroots level in all respects. Sharing her experiences, she advised that time management, discipline and hard work should be inculcated in the minds of youth and women by their parents for attaining the targeted goals in their chosen fields. Explaining the hardship in her life as the First Woman visitor of North Pole and Lady Medical Doctor during the Indo-Pak war of 1971, Padma said that stern, stipulated targets and continuous hard work alone paved the way to overcome many hurdles and problems by women. She praised the efforts of AGRASRI for culmination of women Sarpanch, SHG members, VO leaders, grassroots activists and women policy makers at one place for sharing the experiences and ideas on sustainable development and suggests that organize many more such programs at the grassroots level exclusively for women and underprivileged segments of society for their empowerment as well as the builders of the national development. Delivering the Guests of Honour address at the Webinar Meeting, Dhanalakshmi, District Panchayat Officer, Nellore, said that today every woman Sarpanch in Andhra Pradesh is become a role model to others in achieving multiple achievements by implementing various welfare schemes and programs mainly because of the efforts and commitment by the State Government towards the women empowerment related policies. Presiding over the meeting, V Vanajakshmma, Professor of Cardiology at SVIMS University, said that onerous responsibilities of women will increase in multiple manners in male-dominated society and the time has come for transformation of women rights and duties equally with male in exhibiting their talents and capabilities in every field as most successful warrior. D Sundar Ram, Moderator of the Webinar Meeting and Director of AGRASRI, narrated the efforts and initiatives of two Telugu policy makers towards women empowerment in India by way of Durgabhai Deshmukh as the first Chairperson of the Central Social Welfare Board in 1953 and PV Narasimha Rao as the Prime Minister of India. They set up the National Commission for Women in 1992 and the Rashtriya Mahila Kosh in 1993, said Ram, while explaining the efforts of the Andhra Pradesh government since 1975 for women empowerment and particularly the reservations for women in PRIs and Urban local bodies, besides enactment of various acts in the establishment of AP Women Co-operative Society, Mahila Pranganam, MACS act, Velugu, Indira Kranthi Patham and Gender Budget. Panelist P Sumathi, Sub-Inspector of Police, Central Crime Station, Tirupati, said that education alone is the major gift to women for reaching the highest positions and getting dignity and respect in the society with the support and encouragement of men. A large number of Women Sarpanches, SHG and VO leaders, apart from grassroots activists, participated in the Webinar.