Srinagar: Addressing the party’s first-ever women’s convention in Srinagar, Apni Party (AP) President Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari on Tuesday said that “no human society can grow and develop as a civilized society unless it gives its due share to the womenfolk in the process of policy, planning, and development of the society.”
Bukhari said that his party believes that “the womenfolk, who constitute nearly half of the overall population, should be socially, economically, educationally, and politically empowered in order to develop a civilized society.”
According to a statement issued here, a grand function was organized in terms of the AP’s district woman’s convention at SKICC, which was largely attended by women from different walks of society, and women leaders and workers of the party from Srinagar.
In his speech, Syed Altaf Bukhari said, “With the experience of history, the world has a consensus that no society can grow and progress until it gives equal rights to women in terms of their participation in the planning, policy, and development. Therefore, we ought to give the due share of status and rights to the womenfolk in Kashmir, where the female gender has been the worst victim of the unrest over the period of more than three decades.”
“Kashmir’s women have suffered as mothers, sisters, daughters, or the spouses of the victims who fall prey to the enduring conflict situation here. Now, we must wipe every tear from the eyes of our mothers and sisters. We must give them strength and lay an easy-going path leading to a better future. We have to ensure social, educational, economic, and political empowerment to make a prosperous society in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Syed Altaf Bukhari further said, “Since Apni Party has an agenda to ensure sustained peace, prosperity, and development in Jammu and Kashmir; the women have a vital role to ensure the implementation of this agenda.”
Reiterating his party’s position, the AP President said, “I have already said it time and again that when AP gets the people’s mandate, we will take several initiatives to ensure the economic and social empowerment of women. We will give 33 percent from the reserved quota of the Govt services to the women in J&K.”
He further said, “We will enhance marriage assistance to the girls up to 1 Lakh rupees, and the monthly widow pension up to five thousand rupees from the existing one thousand rupees. Also, we will give 4 free gas cylinders (refills) to every household annually.”
The convention was organized by the Provincial President of the Party’s Women’s Wing Dilshad Shaheen. Bukhari congratulated Dilshada and other party functionaries for organizing such a grand woman convention —a historic event in its nature as such a grand convention with massive participation of the women has been organized for the first time since 1975.
