Headlines
All violence is male-generated: Maneka Gandhi
New Delhi, Sep 14
Courting controversy, union
Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi on Monday said
that the role of men in gender sensitisation was critical since "all the
violence is male-generated".
The role of men in gender
sensitisation was the most critical since "all the violence is
male-generated. We have introduced (the concept of) 'Gender Champions'
in schools, under which boys who have been respectful and helpful to
girls will be rewarded", the minister said in reply to a question while
interacting live with users on Facebook, as part of the ministry's
'#100Women' initiative launched in July.
Under the initiative,
the ministry has collaborated with the social media platform, Facebook,
to identify 100 women across the country who made a difference to their
communities.
During the time she spent on live chat in the
digital space, Gandhi was asked many questions on children's education,
health and safety, crimes against women and other political issues,
though she answered only some questions.
As for the alleged rape
of two Nepalese maids by a Saudi diplomat in Gurgaon in Haryana, Gandhi
said the case was an "eye-opener" and added that the central government
would see what safeguards could be put in place to prevent such
incidents in future.
On the implementation of the Protection of
Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, the minister said, "We get
periodic reports from the states and work with the National Commission
for Women and the police."
The ministry was also setting up 'One
Stop Centres' called 'Sakhi', which would play an active role in helping
women in trouble, she added.
On media sensitivity to women's
issues, she said, "I find the media more sensitive to women's issues in
India as compared with the situation abroad."
Sometimes the media
highlighted only one aspect of violence against women and gave an
impression abroad that Indian society was insensitive to the fairer sex,
Gandhi said, adding that the media response had also led to public
awareness as well as many laws.
On the education system in the
country, Gandhi, who is also an animal rights activist, said, "I think
education should be more gender sensitive and certainly animal
sensitive."
Regarding the reservation given to children of
economically weaker sections in schools, she said it was important to
bring children from such background into good schools. Statistically,
she said, India needed a school every seven minutes.
Speaking
about the '#100Women' initiative, Gandhi earlier said: "We all have had
women in our lives who have made a difference; who have changed the
course of our own lives; and who have left a mark on the entire
community and changed it for the better."
These women would be
nominated on the ministry's Facebook page. Those getting maximum
recommendations would be shortlisted which would then be put up before a
jury for selection of these 100 women.
To submit their
nominations, people should visit the ministry's Facebook page before
September 30 and fill in the nomination forms.
The selected women
would be hosted by President Pranab Mukherjee on January 22, 2016, the
day when the prime minister had launched the 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao'
programme this year.