Srinagar: National Conference Party President and Member of Parliament from Srinagar Dr. Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday necessitated on empowering girls and women to leadership roles.
This he said while addressing a one day convention of party’s newly formed women’s wing body of District Shopian here at the party head quarters Nawa-e-Subha, Srinagar. The convention was presided over by state women’s wing president Advocate Shameema Firdous. Addressing the functionaries, Dr Farooq said that due to the prevailing situation the women of Jammu and Kashmir have been the worst sufferers. “Discrimination and depravity at the societal and domestic-level with our mothers and sisters is not unknown in this part of the world. Our sisters and mothers are bearing an additional burden of the political instability and conflict as well. The young population of Kashmir, especially the girls is extremely vulnerable to the repercussions of excessive surveillance, suspicion, joblessness, killings, and torn families. Beyond these torments, people across Kashmir suffer from the loss of agency in negotiating their everyday lives due to price rise, administrative apathy, and widespread fear. A complex web of repercussions has ensnared the lives of Kashmiri women,” he said.
“Rising unemployment in JK is also having a cascading affect on our promising women. However it’s elating to see aspiring girls well educated and well equipped with strong leadership skills joins our fold wave after wave. Having women in politics, it goes without saying will attune party policies towards the needs of women and prepare them for the leadership roles to face the challenges of the present and future. I hope that the newly elected body members will help in strengthening of party at grass root level and also peacemaking and development in the region,” he added.
Exhorting the newly constituted women’s body to work in tandem for increasing the foothold of the party, he said that the contemporary generation of women and girls have eminent and towering women figures to draw inspiration from that include Begum Akbar Jehan among others such great power women. The need of the hour, he said is to give a platform to aspiring women and help in creating impactful voices to take on the looming challenges. “I hope that the newly constituted women’s body will work with a sense of belonging towards the party. Individually also, the women functionaries should always lent themselves available for the service of people.”
