New Delhi, June 23 (UNI) Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu said on Saturday that it is the pious responsibility of everyone to take care of widows and there was a need to reflect on the social attitudes towards widows and how the stigma, humiliation and isolation attached to widowhood can be overcome.
Addressing a gathering on the occasion of International Widows' Day, here, he said that '‘We as a society need to reflect on the social attitudes towards widows and how the stigma, humiliation and isolation attached to widowhood can be overcome’'.
Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology and Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
The Vice-President said that it was a matter of concern that widows were looked down upon and at times meted out unjust treatment even in the present digital era. A powerful social movement was required to change the mindset of people towards widows, he added.
Mr Naidu said indigent widows need to be empowered financially by providing loans to be self-employed. Preference should be given to widows while extending Mudra loans, he added.
The Vice-President stressed on the need to create livelihood opportunities through vocational training programmes in various areas, including tailoring, garment making and packaging for widows. He further said states like Haryana and Rajasthan were giving preference to widows seeking government jobs through competitive examinations. This should be emulated by other States too, he added.
Highlighting the need to empower widows, he said that providing livelihood skills and education for their children was at most important.
He further said that under the social welfare schemes like housing and land distribution, entitlements need to be given in the name of women and preference should be meted to widows. Such measures will help in empowering them, he added.
The Vice President said the concept of New India encompasses economically emancipated women and if that vision is realised, many of the social ills like atrocities on women and neglect of widows can become a thing of the past.
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