On the occasion of International Women's day, the Punjab Chief Minister, Captain Amarinder Singh, said his government would launch eight new schemes to empower and protect women.
The Punjab Government is collaborating with various Unites Nations' and global organisations to step up its efforts to ensure empowerment for women.
The initiatives scheduled for the launch on International Women's Day, March 8, include appointments of 2,047 master cadre women teachers, the launch of '181' Saanjh Shakti Helpline and Police Helpdesks.
According to an official spokesperson, the pro-women schemes were to be launched virtually by the Chief Minister from Punjab Bhawan, Chandigarh, with simultaneous programmes at the district headquarters and block-level across Punjab, The Indian Express reported.
Aruna Chaudhary, Minister for Social Security, Women and Child Development, will participate with the other ministers and MLAs in the main launch event.
The CM will also hand over appointment letters directly to some newly-recruited women teachers in the master cadre in the School Education Department. The letters will be sent to a total of 2,407 women teachers in the state.
As per the spokesperson, the state government's cooperation with international agencies is aimed to secure women from crimes, protect their rights, and incorporate a gender sensitisation curriculum in the school syllabus.
UN Women, UNDP (United Nations Development Fund), UN Population Fund, J-PAL (Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab), and FUEL (Friends Union for Energising Lives) are among the organisations with which the state plans to collaborate. The collaboration would improve women's skill training, identify and enhance their employability, build capability, and eliminate anaemia.
The MoU with UN Women would launch gender-based programmes, capacity-building of the state on gender, empowering women economically and violence against women. In addition, the state government is launching a Technical Fest (Techshiksha) with UN Women, under which the shortlisted girls will undergo a training programme besides offering placements to them.
To eliminate gender-based harmful practises such as abuse against women and girls and gender-based sex selection, the MOU with United Nations Population Fund is being signed for state departments' capacity-building.
In all government schools, the MoU with J-PAL would further boost the gender sensitisation curriculum programme, and the MoU with FUEL would teach skills to the youth in line with the Ghar Ghar Rozgaar Scheme.
These efforts are part of Captain Amarinder Singh's Women's empowerment focus, which has steadily increased over the last four years. In a historic move, the state government has already made 33% reservations in government jobs and 50 % reservations in elections to panchayats and municipal authorities.
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