Women and preferential policy
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: December 08 2015 -
The recent decision of the Government of Meghalaya to initiate a new policy to procure goods manufactured by women entrepreneurs is indeed a good move.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma announced this while speaking at the North East Chief Minister’s Conclave on Economic Empowerment of Women organized by FICCI Ladies’ Organization (FLO) in Guwahati on December 5.
Mukul Sangma feels that there is a need to create access to livelihood for women in their “own backyards” and also made public his intention to a “preferential purchase policy” for the products of women entrepreneurs.
He has also rightly stressed on the need to create livelihood initiatives in rural areas stating that sustainable livelihood for women must be linked with developing entrepreneurship.
While making public his intention, the Meghalaya Chief Minister also pointed out that weaving has been a traditional strength of the region and that the region offers the largest catchment area of skilled workforce in weaving.
During the same conclave, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had also pointed out that the yardstick of development depends on how empowered the women are and the actual empowerment of rural women in the region.
While, ideas and initiatives are being talked about one thing that really needs to be thrashed out threadbare is the distinction or at times the overlapping concepts of projection and empowerment.
While empowerment entails equipping the weaker sections with adequate strength towards self reliance, protection basically centres on shielding the weaker groups from the travails of socially and politically constructed notion of the self.
It has been argued that economic empowerment combined with programmes that challenge gender inequalities and prevailing ideas on masculinity can truthfully lead to a successful initiation of such a policy envisaged by the Meghalaya Chief Minister.
This calls for further discussion on how one can spouse policies that give teeth to certain progressive elements which can achieve economic and social objectives.
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