Women need to be heard at all public forums: UN

Mathura, Feb 12 (PTI) UN Women South Asia Regional Program Director Anne Stennhemmer today urged women to get their voices heard at all areas of public life including that in Parliament, panchayats, gram sabhas and other forums. Stennhemmer said this through a statement read out by UN representative Nora Nyko in the former's absence at a three-day conference organised by a girl's college here. "Equality between women and men is not only the matter of human rights but also a condition for special justice and economic progress. "Evidence shows that women's empowerment and gender equality benefits everyone and that this drives development progress," Nyko said while reading out Stennhemmer's key note address on 'Agenda for inclusive Growth The Millennium Development Goals and Beyond'. Former Chief Justice J S Verma, who also attended the conference, said people's participation of people in governance is the essence of democracy. "Whatever has been mentioned in Millennium Development Goals already exists in our constitution. Only the need is its proper implementation," he said. PTI COR HU HU