Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Social Welfare, Health and Medical Education, Asiea Naqash Friday said that woman empowerment lies at the core of government’s policy and asked woman folk to take maximum benefit of schemes meant for their welfare and growth.Speaking at a function organized by the Bharat Scouts and Guides Association in collaboration with Sri Guru Gobind Singh Higher Secondary School to mark ‘International Girl Day’ , Asiea Naqash said that the schemes like ‘Ladli Beti’, ‘Aasra’ etc have been launched to address the areas of concern like female feticide and declining female sex ratio. “These schemes have been devised to protect girl’s right from birth to adulthood by providing financial security to them” she asserted.The Minister said these schemes are starting point towards the welfare of the girl child, while the real responsibility to provide a conducive and protective atmosphere to the girl child rests with the family and the society at large. “We together need to put in concerted efforts to achieve the desired objective of securing the future of the girl child,” she said.
Asiea Naqash exhorted upon the members of the Bharat Scouts and Guides Association to identify the deserving families and encourage them to avail the benefits of such schemes.Reiterating the commitment of the present coalition government headed by Chief Minister Ms Mehbooba Mufti towards women empowerment, Asiea Naqash said “We need to focus on empowering women by providing them better education, healthcare, and social security.Terming women as harbingers of peace, the Minister said for establishing peace in the world, there is need to first create peaceful atmosphere at home for women. She also laid stress on imparting skill development training to women to enable them to become financially independent.Students of various schools presented skit, speech and poems on the occasion. Later the Minister distributed prizes among the participants.Among others who attended the function includes Chairman of Sri Guru Gobind Singh School, Harbans Singh, principals, MDs, staff and students of various schools.