Imphal, June 19 2009: Despite the significant steps being undertaken for the protection of women's rights and promoting their welfare, the status of women in Manipur continues to remain backward, said an analysis of the State Economic Survey Report of the Manipur Government compiled by the State Directorate of Economic and Statistics.

The survey report said the goal of poverty alleviation cannot be achieved without the full and active participation of women who constitute a large section of work force, is a well known fact.

Thus, women empowerment is critical to the process of the development.

So, bringing into the mainstream of development is a major concern of the Government, the report maintained.

In order to empower women and bring them into mainstream, an enabling environment with requisite policies and programmes, institutional mechanisms at various levels and adequate financial resources have been created.

With gradual spread of education and empowerment, the position of women has begun to change, it observed.

Considering that the main cause for this is illiteracy and ignorance, Government has been giving in the campaign drive to educate the women, the Economic and Statistics survey report said.

There is substantial increase in the number of educated women in the State as after 1961 onwards the progress of women's education in Manipur is higher than that of all India level.

From a mere 0.04 female literacy rate in 1901, it rose to 47.60 in 1991.According to census report 2001, the female literacy is 53.70 percent.

The female literacy rate of Manipur in 2001 is 60.50 percent against all-India 53.70 percent.

The survey report also said that women constitute a significant part of the work forces in the state.

Among rural women workers, a majority are employed in agriculture as labourers and cultivators.

Women as agricultural workers generally participate in all operations except ploughing.

They are engaged in transplanting, weeding, applying fertilizers and also harvesting the produce.

In the urban areas, women workers are primarily employed in the unorganized sector such as household industries, petty trades and services, construction works etc.

The main and marginal workers among females constitute 54.82 percent and 45.18 percent of the total female workers respectively.

Out of the total 2,29,137 main female workers, 1,10,940 (48.42 percent) were cultivator, 16,432 (7.17 percent) were agricultural labourers whereas remaining 1,01,765 (44.42 percent) were engaged in other sectors like manufacturing, processing, servicing and repairing other than household industries and other services etc.

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