Women empowerment should be seen in a holistic manner, says Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar

Jagdeep Dhankhar

Speaking at News18's SHE-SHAKTI Conclave, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, called for a holistic approach to ensure women empowerment in its true sense.

Speaking on democracy and democratic values, the VP iterated that democracy must ensure that the most vulnerable sections of our society can benefit from this political structure. Calling women reservation in legislature revolutionary, Dhankhar said the move to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in Parliament and the state assemblies will greatly empower them.

"Gender discrimination has vanished in its previous forms, but it has recurred in newer forms. Subtle forms of discrimination is far more dangerous than overt forms," said the Vice President.

On the RG Kar rape-murder of trainee doctor and the subsequent doctors’ protest over the handling of the case, he said, “What a shame! We are accountable to our conscience….we need to get into correction mode. We cannot allow people day in and day out to overlook national interest. We need to secure gender justice.”

The V-P said, “Democracy doesn’t mean a party comes to power. There must be evolution of mechanism, which includes for women….Some people have the audacity to call women weaker sex. They are terribly wrong. What happened over the ages has to change. Democary is made for those who are vulnerable, challenged and those who need handholding. You need to access opportunities and have full control over your life.”

“In the Vedas, we had women like Gargi, Maitri, Viswambhara and Apala, who were great scholars and dominated the scene…Women have nurtured males…They never give up hope. There was a time when men and women were equal. They were on the same pedestal, but somewhere we lost the way. We are finding that way to regain the past glory…Education and healthcare are key to securing empowerment. Beti padhao is a great success,” Dhankar said.