Inaugration of Working Women’s Hostel for North-Eastern States: India

Ministry of Women and Child Development20-August, 2011
Speech of MOS (I/C) WCD for the inaugural function of Working Women’s Hostel for North-Eastern States
Hon’ble Shri Paban Singh Ghatowar, Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region; Shri Vincent H. Pala, Hon’ble Minister of State for Water Resources; Km. Agatha Sangma, Hon’ble Minister of State for Rural Development; Shri D. K. Sikri, Secretary WCD; Smt. Jayati Chandra, Secretary DONER; Shri Sudhir Kumar, Additional Secretary, WCD; Officers from the Ministries and all our special guests, especially the young working women from the North Eastern region. 

I am very happy to inaugurate this Working Women’s Hostel today. For a very long time, it has been an aspiration of my Ministry to provide a model working women’s hostel for the women of the North Eastern region; one that not only, meets their need for accommodation but also provides them with a sense of security and safety in an alien city. A large number of young women from the North Eastern region are living and working in Delhi. It is estimated that about 4000 students from this region take admission in the Delhi University every year, and a large number of them stay on to build a life for themselves in the city. This makes it incumbent upon us to provide them with a comfortable and secure place to live in, especially since, a large number are single women living far away from their families.

We are all aware that when a woman leaves the safety and comfort of her home to work in a new city, she needs a support system that will take care not only of her needs for a comfortable place to stay but also gives her the strength and confidence to establish herself in a new environment. A lot of educated and highly qualified women do not enter the workforce in the absence of such a support system and in this background, this Working Women’s Hostel, marks a milestone in the fulfilment of our commitment for the social and economic empowerment of the women from the North Eastern region.

The major issue that has been agitating us in the Government was the rising rate of crime against women from the North Eastern region living in Delhi, especially the large number of cases of sexual harassment and rape. In recent years, a number of such episodes have occurred. In the year 2009 alone, 16 cases of molestation, rape, and violence were reported against people from this region. Every such instance has strengthened our resolve to provide a dedicated hostel for the women of this region; a place that provides them a family like environment, with all the physical comforts they need. It was also important to ensure their physical safety, and a very important consideration was the need for good connectivity to their place of work. We are happy that the Central Secretariat – Badarpur line of the Metro is only 1 Km away and all the women living in this hostel will be able to access this service.

This working women hostel is a six storey building with 167 living rooms. It can accommodate 501 working women. We have tried to ensure every comfort for its residents including their safety and security. Every room in the hostel has an attached bathroom and toilet. A common room, visitor’s room, guest room, sick room and library have all been provided for. Ample parking space is available for women who wish to use their personal transport. Complete power backup facility has been provided along with assured water supply. There is also a doctor-on-call facility. I am sure that the standards set by this hostel will be a model for all the other working women hostels in the country. I hope this hostel will be a home away from home for all the women who stay here.

The management of the hostel has been entrusted to the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) for 5 years, after following a tender process. The YWCA is a reputed institution that has been successfully running its hostels in the city for many years and we are hopeful that they will operate this hostel as per our expectations.

The Ministry of Development of North Eastern region has been our partner in making this hostel a reality. I would like to express my gratitude to Shri Paban Singh Ghatowar, and his Ministry for their unstinted support and cooperation.

Today, as the country celebrates Communal Harmony Day on the birthday of Late Shri Rajiv Gandhi, I feel an immense sense of satisfaction and happiness in dedicating this hostel to the working women of the North Eastern region.

My Ministry has also taken the initiative to formalise the Supreme Court judgement in the Vishakha Case by bringing forth, the Protection of Women from Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill. We hope that this Bill, when passed by Parliament, will be another strong step in ensuring a safe working environment for women.

It will be our continuous endeavour to strive for the realisation of the Constitutional and human rights of women and work towards their social and economic empowerment, so as to ensure that every woman in the country, irrespective of her caste, religion or region she belongs to, lives a life of dignity and freedom.

DK
(Release ID :74858)

source: http://www.pib.nic.in

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