Abdullah calls for empowering women in politics; larger role in policy planning

Emphasising the importance of empowering women in politics, National Conference party president Farooq Abdullah said on Sunday (February 20) that it goes without saying that having women in politics will shape party policies to meet the needs of women.

It will also prepare women for leadership roles and to face the challenges of the present and future, he added. Talking at an event, in which a newly-constituted provincial women wing of the political party was being inaugurated, Abdullah said that the National Conference (NC) had always been striving for gender equality.

He referred to the measures adopted by his party over the years for women empowerment and emancipation and said this is critical to promote leadership roles among them.

“Involvement of women in decision-making and policy planning is necessary for achieving comprehensive, unbiased and sustainable development, which will eventually lead to harmonious growth of the society,” said the former Chief Minister.

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Further, Abdullah added that due to the prevailing situation the women of Jammu and Kashmir have been the worst sufferers.

According to the NC chief, it is common in this part of the world that “our mothers and sisters” were discriminated and there is depravity at the societal and domestic-level. Further, rising unemployment and inflation in J&K is also having a cascading effect on our promising women, he pointed out.

Therefore, Abdullah felt that the need of the hour was to provide a platform to aspiring women to help them in creating impactful voices to take on the looming challenges. He expressed hope that the functionaries of this wing would reach out to the people and help solve their problems.