Chandigarh, March 9
Haryana Chief Secretary Dharam Vir honoured those 46 girls who had made their mark at state or national or international level in various fields namely education, sports and cultural activities and also honoured five anganwadi workers for achieving positions at national and state level.
Among these outstanding females was Mrs Rani Devi, a prominent social activist from Ambala, who has risen in life despite adverse circumstances and won Jhansi Ki Rani Lakshmibai- Stree Shakti Puraskar recently.
While giving away the awards at a State level function organized by Haryana Women and Child Development Department on the occasion of International Women’s Day on here, the Chief Secretary said that women have remained victims of discrimination right from their birth for long time and it needs to be tackled. Social evils like dowry and female foeticide are factors responsible for low socio- economic status of women in Haryana. However, Haryana has seen incredible success in economic development and the social indicators have also shown improvement in women’s status. He said that yet a lot of work is to be done in this direction. The economic empowerment of women has to be a continuous process. He reiterated that education of women is most important instrument for their economic empowerment.
Mr. G. Prasanna Kumar, Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary, Women and Child Development Department, highlighted the importance of International Women’s Day in the world and emphasized that girls need more resources for their development and empowerment.
