Bhubaneswar (SAARANSH MISHRA): It is indisputable that the sphere of policymaking has ceased to be women-centric for the longest time, leading to prevalence of various gender-based inequalities in India. Although, policymakers have made certain amends over the last few decades, there remains a ginormous amount of work to be done to make even a fraction of the difference that would be deemed acceptable in terms of empowering women.
In the backdrop of this longstanding lackluster approach by policymakers towards women empowerment, stands the Government of Odisha, spearheaded by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who, on the contrary has been instrumental in reforming the status of the women in the state with his targeted women-centric policies. The Chief Minister has been carrying forward the legacy of his father, former Chief Minister Late Biju Patnaik, who was way ahead of his time in recognizing the importance of addressing women’s issues in an era where they were down below in the pecking order of policy priorities for most governments.
In a recent move, the Chief Minister of Odisha announced casual leave of 25 days a year for women employees working in different departments of state. This entails an addition of 10 days from what existed previously. Recently, the Odisha Government had also announced 15 days of casual leave in a year for employees in various non-government aided educational institutions and the women block grant employees of different educational institutions have also been granted paid maternity leave for 180 days for two births. Exhibiting immense sensitivity towards the familial responsibilities and various other challenges that women face, the Chief Minister decided to undertake these decisions.
Although commendable, unsurprisingly, there has been a predominant narrative among the skeptics and the opposition about these moves being nothing more than a pre-election gimmick by the Government. However, a cursory glance at Odisha’s radical history of progressive policies towards women is enough to contradict this claim, such as the state being the first to reserve 33% of government jobs for women in the 1990s.
Moreover, Patnaik’s tenure has witnessed revolutionary initiatives for women that have been unprecedentedly instrumental in bolstering the status of women in the state by giving them significant platforms to grow, become independent and make an identity for themselves beyond familial bondages that a large proportion of women in India are unfortunately trapped in. Deeper scrutiny of these initiatives leads us to the incontrovertible transformation these initiatives have brough about in Odisha.
To begin with, the most unmistakable one is Mission Shakti. The initiative started with an initial objective of forming two lakh women self-help groups in two years. Today, the initiative encompasses 6,02,013 Women Self-Help Groups comprising of 70,00,010 women. The state Government has been placing massive work-orders to women under Mission Shakti.
Through the mission and the Government’s support, the women are able to contribute to their families by running small businesses and earning money, leading to a huge shift in societal hierarchy paving a path for them to dream beyond any limits. Mission Shakti also aims at upgrading skills in women which would help them further in the journey to self-sufficiency. Additionally, in order to encourage women-led entrepreneurial ventures, the government has been giving 10 lakh as loans without interest to women.
Women in Odisha have prominent representation in local politics as well, with women leading 20 out of the 30 council districts in the state and occupying more than 50% of the positions in panchayat and municipal bodies.
Under the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana, health serviced of Rs 5 lakh are available for all, whereas women have been allotted benefits worth 10 lakhs, women get an amount of Rs. 1,000 extra, ration cards, BSKY cards etc. are being registered under the name of women family members. Furthermore, the government has been providing huge discounts if land is bought under the name of a woman family member.
The initiatives that the Government is taking towards women in the economic, political, and social spheres is remarkable to say the least. Gender-based violence and discrimination against women in India is rampant and two of the major factors that result in women tolerating this are lack of education and economic self-reliance. Hence, what the Government of Odisha is doing is unparalleled, as it gives women the platform to be able to stand up for themselves in the face of gender-based adversities.
The Government of Odisha is leading from the front and setting examples for other Governments to follow. Essentially, the models of policymaking prioritizing women’s issues that are currently in place in Odisha should be replicated in other parts of the country to mitigate the largescale women-related issues that plague our country. Additionally, policies towards women must always keep evolving to accommodate changing socio-economic circumstances surrounding women. The Government of Odisha is surely doing a great job at this juncture, but it is unlikely that Chief Minister Patnaik will be satiated with what exists currently, owing to his voracious appetite for constant change and development in all spheres.
