Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference on Saturday stated that at a time when most of the parties don’t walk the talk on women’s representation in politics, the National Conference stands out in giving women their due, saying the party is intensifying its efforts to improve participation of women in politics at all organizational levels.
The NC party, right from its inception, has worked towards blurring gender discrimination and ensuring more participation of women in public life, said Party’s State Women’s Wing President and Former Legislature Shameema Firdous while addressing District Presidents and other provincial-level functionaries of the womens wing at Nawa-e-Subha, Srinagar. The meeting was also attended by Women’s Wong Provincial President (K) Er Sabiya Qadri and Provincial secretary Aisha Jameel, who also addressed the functionaries.
Addressing the functionaries, Shameema Firdous said the lockdown measures and lockdown have taken a toll on women. She said as the pandemic stretched in the ongoing year, the voices of women in the formal, as well as informal sectors, were left unattended to by the incumbent administration.
“The covid has particularly been harmful to women folks especially those who are singularly providing for families with their meager wages by working in handicrafts and other services sector. The pandemic blues have however pushed them to wall; the absence of any succor from the administration is making their condition from bad to worse. Covid’s massive disruption to employment has also crippled economy and pushed lakhs of women to the financial brink. So far the government has nothing in its kitty for the girl students, expecting mothers, elderly and ones in poor health. The package announced by the incumbent administration has anything in it to mitigate the suffering of our womenfolk,” she said.
“With a drastic fall in the household income the women, the expecting mothers and elderly women have become more susceptible to malnutrition and diseases. The ongoing crises have also decreased women’s access to medical facilities; purchasing necessary drugs and supplements is out of the question for both expecting mothers, as well as elderly. In general, also Covid induced economic slump impacted women more than men. I have come across instances where women have cut their dietary intake to save their kids,” she said.
Impressing upon the incumbent JK government to announce a women-specific package she said the administration should immediately work out a mechanism to provide monthly emoluments to expecting mothers, elderly and girl students. “The monthly emoluments should be sufficient enough for women to procure food, medicines and other essentials. In addition, the pension for elderly women should be enhanced by Rs 700 per month. Besides that, the grievances of lakhs of ASHA workers should be redressed and their withheld monthly wages should be released immediately,” she said.
