Legislation alone cannot emancipate women and has to be supported by efficient enforcement mechanisms, President Pranab Mukherjee said on Saturday.
“New legislations, no matter how well conceived, must be supported by efficient enforcement mechanisms. Legislation, alone, cannot emancipate our women”, said Mukherjee in his address on International Women’s Day.
“There is a need for a fundamental re-setting of our mental and moral make-up, our civic sense and our social conduct. We must do all that we can to revive our tradition of according due honour and respect to our mothers and sisters; by doing so we will honour ourselve,” he said.
The President also conferred the Stree Shakti Puruskar on six illustrious women in recognition of their achievements.
Mukherjee said that as housewives, mothers, teachers, businesswomen at the grassroots and executives in the top echelons of the corporate world, women have, through their individual efforts made contributions to build the India of today.
“As respected professionals in all walks of life, women have, in no less measure, made their mark in the frontiers of science, space exploration and research alike,” he said, making a special mention of the women in agricultural sector.
He stated that women in this sector are the mainstay of India’s food security –and also the scores of women workers who toil shoulder to shoulder with men in building, brick by brick, the mighty physical infrastructure of our country.
The six women who got the award include Dr Vartika Nanda from Delhi who has been honoured with Rani Gaidinliu Zeliang Award for creating awareness on women’s issues through media.