Varanasi, September 9: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, "In Uttar Pradesh, there are only two places for those who breach the safety of daughters and women - jail or hell. 9 years ago, families faced the question of how a daughter would step out of the house and whether she would return safely. Today, the question has changed. Now the question before a daughter is how far she wants to go. She should prepare herself to go wherever her dreams take her, and the double-engine government stands with her."
The Chief Minister was addressing a Working Women Felicitation Ceremony organized in the Pindra Assembly constituency on Wednesday. He said, "Women’s empowerment will not happen through slogans alone; it must be felt on the ground. Over the past 9 years, the government first removed fear, then educated daughters, equipped them with skills, connected them with employment and is now moving forward towards making them self-reliant. This is a journey from the threshold of the home to opportunity, from opportunity to confidence, and from confidence to self-reliance."
Yogi said, "Before 2017, families remained concerned about the safety of their daughters when sending them to school. If there was no toilet at home, they worried about dignity; if there was smoke in the kitchen, they worried about health; and they worried about money for treatment. If a woman wanted to step out of the house and do something, concerns about roads, connectivity and opportunities came up. The government has removed these obstacles one by one."
The Chief Minister informed, "Mission Shakti centers were established for women’s safety. Women Beat Police Officers were deployed, and systems such as 1090 and 181 were linked with security. In 2017, there were around 10,000 women police personnel in the state police, whose number has now increased to 44,000. After the new recruitment is completed, this number will exceed 50,000. Three women PAC battalions are also being established. They have been named after Veerangana Avanti Bai Lodhi, Uda Devi Pasi and Jhalkari Bai Kori."
He said that for a daughter, a pathway is not limited to a road; it also means the way to reach school, college, hospital, market, workplace, and her dreams. Over the past 9 years, connectivity has expanded from highways to airports and from railways to metro. Purvanchal, Bundelkhand, Ganga and Gorakhpur Link Expressways have made access to opportunities easier.
The Chief Minister stated, "The government stands with a daughter from her birth through education and into the further stages of her life. Under the Mukhyamantri Kanya Sumangala Yojana, Rs 25,000 is being provided from birth to graduation. More than 5 lakh daughters have been married under the Mukhyamantri Samuhik Vivah Yojana. Kasturba Gandhi Schools will now be operated up to Class 12. Half of the seats in Atal Awasiya Vidyalayas are reserved for daughters, and arrangements have also been made for girls' admission in Sainik Schools. Very soon, 50,000 meritorious girl students in the final year of graduation will be brought under the Scooty Scheme named after Rani Lakshmibai."
Yogi said the government is also working continuously to make women economically self-reliant. Under Project Ganga, the government will prepare digital entrepreneurs in 8,000 Nyaya Panchayats across the state, of whom 4,000 will be women. Along with providing digital facilities in villages, they will also create their own path to employment.
He said, "Through Self-Help Groups, Lakhpati Didis, Drone Didis and Banking Correspondent Sakhis are becoming examples of economic self-reliance. More than 28 lakh women in the state have become Lakhpati Didis. More than 4 lakh women are associated with 5 Milk Producer Organizations. Women are operating around half of the more than 24,000 startups in the state. Women’s participation in the workforce, which was earlier around 12 percent, has now increased to more than 36 percent."
The Chief Minister stated that Shramjeevi Hostels are being built for working women in the name of Lokmata Ahilyabai Holkar. Women above 60 years of age have also been provided free travel on Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation buses.
He said that the work of providing security, dignity and economic self-reliance to half of the population is continuously moving forward.
Targeting the opposition, Yogi said, "Many people will come, make new announcements and work to divide society based on caste, but when it comes to taking action against a dreaded mafia, they lose their nerve. We are not among those who plead before any mafia for the sake of a vote bank. The goons and mafia who breach the safety of daughters will have to choose between jail and hell."
The Chief Minister stated, "No daughter will be left behind because she was born into a poor family, and no woman will abandon her dream due to lack of capital. The government will provide opportunities and women will move forward through their hard work and capabilities. The goal is to increase the participation of half the population in every sphere of life. Women will now become not only the strength of the family, but also the economic strength of the state and the country."
Referring to the development of Kashi, Yogi said, under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, projects worth Rs 1 lakh crore in Kashi have either been completed or are currently underway over the past 12 years.
Praising the efforts of MLA Dr Avadhesh Singh, he said the participation of so many women with barely 24 hours of preparation was encouraging.
