Smt.
Krishna Tirath, Minister of State (I/C), Ministry of
Women and Child Development (WCD) inaugurated the Vatsalya
Mela at Dilli Haat here today.
Speaking
at the occasion, Smt. Tirath said that the Vatsalya Mela is
celebrated every year since the last six years to sensitise
the people and spread awareness and information about the various schemes of
the Ministry taken up for the development of women and children. At the Mela various stalls have been set up to explain in detail
the various facets of the schemes of the WCD Ministry and how the benefits can
be availed. Halls providing information on the ICDS, SABLA, IGMSY, and the
activities of various organizations associated with it such as CARA, NIPCCD,
NCW, NCPCR, CSWB, NMEW, RMK etc have been set up at the Mela.
Various NGOs and organizations such as UN Women, UNDP, UNESCO and Nehru Yuva Kendra have come together with this initiative of the
M/o WCD to spread awareness about the issues related to empowerment of women
and growth and development of the children, the Minister informed.
The
WCD Minister also stated that the Ministry has framed legislation such as the
Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act 2012 in recognition of the
needs of the society to fight the growing crime against children in the
domestic and other settings. The rules have been notified from today with which
the Act comes into force, she said. She also noted that the Protection of Women
from Harassment at Workplace Bill has been passed by the Lok
Sabha and will be introduced in the Rajya Sabha in the next session.
Amendments are also being brought to the Juvenile Justice Act which will make
it more strong, she stated. These also reflect the
demand of the society to deal with crimes against women and children, she
noted.
The
Minister stated that the pilot projects of the National Mission for Empowerment
of Women in Kamrup and Pali
districts which help to converge schemes of various other ministers towards
empowerment of women, have been successful to create ‘Ahimsa Messengers’
which will help women fight against such societal evils as dowry, female foeticide, child marriage, domestic violence, etc.
The
6 day Vatslya Mela,
Smt. Tirath said is inaugurated to mark the birth
anniversary of Pandit Nehru, 14th
November, which is also celebrated as Children’s Day. Its closing ceremony on
19th November which marks the birth anniversary of the first woman
Prime Minister of the country, Smt. Indira Gandhi shall
be celebrated as ‘Shakti Diwas’ , the Minister noted.
The
Minister also stated that a Women’s Helpline on the lines of Childline is on the anvil.
In
his opening address, Shri Prem
Narain, Secretary, WCD stated that the 6 day event
will have events such as slogan writing competition every day on various themes
provided by the Ministry, baby shows, panel discussion on issues such as
Corporate Social Responsibility, ‘nari ki chaupal’ where contemporary
issues on women will be debated and discussed, street plays, quizzes, theatre
presentations, musical play, extempore speech etc., in addition to showcasing
the activities of the Ministry and spreading awareness on its various schemes. The
twin theme for this year’s Mela is ‘Child Rights’ and
‘Safety & Protection of Women’, the Secretary mentioned.
Also
present at the opening function were representatives from UN Women, UNDP,
UNESCO, Nehru Yuvak Kendra, FICCI Ladies Organisation and Chairperson of CSWB.
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MV