Women of the 21st Century: WOMAN POWER : Bracing for women’s day specials

WOMEN'S empowerment issues may get more than lipservice in the new UPA regime.
    The government's 100-day programme, announced by President Pratibha Patil in her address to the Parliament, included priorities such as early passage of the Women's Reservation Bill, making efforts to increase women's representation in central government jobs and setting up a national mission for women empowerment for implementing women-centric programmes like increasing female literacy.
    Since the idea behind the 100-day programme is to ensure that early action is taken on the issues identified, one could hope that at least some of the issues would get implemented. The President said the national literacy mission will be recast as national mission for female literacy, to make every woman literate in the next five years. While male literacy went up to over 75% in the last census and is expected to be higher now, female literacy was only 54% in 2001. Increased female literacy is expected to become a force multiplier for all our social development programmes," she said. Concerted effort to increase representation of women in central government jobs will be made.
    Steps for early passage of the women's reservation bill providing for one-third reservation to women in state legislatures and in the Parliament, which has been delayed for many years, figures prominently in the 100-days programme. Ms Patil also proposed a Constitutional amendment to provide 50% reservation for women in local self government.