Bhubaneswar: On the International Women’s Day here Friday, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik urged people of the state to work towards women’s empowerment by taking a pledge to create more women leaders and ensure that they play a greater role at the highest level of decision-making. “Odisha is a pioneer in championing the cause of women through initiatives like Mission Shakti, Mamata, and Gender Budget. On Women’s Day, let’s work towards empowering them further and ensure greater role in the highest decision-making bodies,” said the Chief Minister. “Let’s celebrate women’s leadership in taking Odisha to the forefront in every sphere and pledge to create more women leaders in society,” he added.
On the occasion, various City-based institutions organised several events to celebrate women at home and the workplace. ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (CIFA), Bhubaneswar and KVK, Khurda jointly organized a workshop with the theme ‘women empowerment through aquaculture.’ More than 50 farm women from six self-help groups (SHGs) from Guapur and Majhihara villages of Balipatna block of Khurda district attended the workshop. Bijayini Singh, deputy superintendent of police, joined the workshop as the chief guest. Singh encouraged women to participate in social and economic development of society and help to bring equality.
Similarly, FICCI Ladies Organization (FLO), Bhubaneswar chapter, hosted the FLO Odisha 4th Women’s Award, 2023-24 to celebrate outstanding women leaders of the state from different fields. This event honored these women for their resilience and remarkable contributions to domains including startups, MSMEs, social impact, sports, environment, media, entertainment, politics, and CSR, highlighting their significant influence across these sectors. Congratulating the awardees, development commissioner-cumadditional chief secretary Anu Garg said, “It’s inspiring to see progress in women’s empowerment in Odisha. Each woman contributes uniquely, be it as an entrepreneur, politician, homemaker, or professional.
Let’s embrace our roles as role models and continue to inspire the next generation.” Recognising efforts of the women officers, Odisha Police issued a special message: “Women have always been strong. We honor and salute all the women police personnel, who tirelessly overcome every roadblock in the way and continue to inspire us every day.” On the other hand, at IIM Sambalpur, the women’s day celebrations were organised with the theme ‘Invest in Women: Accelerate progress.’ Guests at the event discussed how collective efforts can be taken towards creating a more equitable, inclusive and prosperous world for women.
In his address, Mahadeo Jaiswal, director of the institute, highlighted the institution’s commitment to gender equality, with both students and faculty comprising an equal gender ratio, and said, “IIM Sambalpur has taken a positive step in improving gender equality on its campus, where both students and faculty comprise 50 per cent male and 50 per cent female. As a management institute, it is our responsibility to bring this gender equality subject to the national agenda.” Jaiswal also underscored the significance of promoting gender equality at a national level, citing the potential economic benefits highlighted in the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Gender Inequality Index (GII) report.
ARINDAM GANGULY, OP