SPEECH BY HER EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA, SHRIMATI PRATIBHA DEVISINGH PATIL, AT THE INAUGURATION OF THE BIRTH CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS OF SMT. ARUNA ASAF ALI

New Delhi, 16th July 2008

It gives me immense pleasure to participate in this function to inaugurate the Birth Centenary celebrations of Aruna Asaf Ali, the respected "Heroine of the Quit India Movement". I would like to congratulate the National Federation of Indian Women for organizing this function.

A committed and a courageous freedom fighter, Aruna Asaf Ali, symbolized the very important contribution of women to our Freedom Movement. Uncompromising in her struggle against British rule, she participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement in the 1930s as well as the individual Satyagraha called by Gandhiji in 1941. It was an historical moment, when she hoisted the tricolour at the August Kranti Maidan in Mumbai on 9th August 1942 from where Mahatma Gandhi gave a call for the British to leave the country. Immediately after the Quit India Resolution was passed, she went underground but continued to organize numerous activities of the freedom struggle. She remained undetected for about four years and the British finally had to withdraw the arrest warrant against her. She earned admiration and respect as a courageous and an ardent freedom fighter. Aruna Asaf Ali had the opportunity to work with the great leaders of the freedom struggle. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru referred to her as "one of India's brave women."

It is a matter of great pride for our Indian women that they fought shoulder to shoulder with our men in the freedom struggle. Now they have to come together and rise to the occasion to play their role in building India into a progressive, stable, peaceful, cultural and a prosperous nation by bringing about inclusive growth and sustainable development.

Aruna Asaf Ali was a strong advocate of the need to provide education to women as a way of empowering them in their lives. Till the very end of her life, she strongly advocated the need for women's education, when she said at a meeting in 1990:-

"... education is the key to enlightenment and to participation in equal terms in decision making in the home and in public life."

These words reflect her conviction that, women must be educated to enable them to effectively participate in the affairs of the country and indeed, in their own family. Educated women contribute to the development of a good family, a compassionate society, a progressive nation and a more tolerant world. Women constitute nearly half of the population of our country. Our full potential as a nation will only be fulfilled when women can fully realize their potential. As long as that does not happen, half the talent, half the progress, half the development, would be lost. We, as a nation cannot afford to do that. Our efforts to empower women through education, awareness and opportunities must continue.

In India, women were given voting rights at the same time as men - that is since the adoption of our Constitution. This was a good beginning especially if we recall that in many countries women had to fight to get the right to vote. Following the Constitutional Amendments in 1992, we introduced democracy at the grassroots level. Today, there are 3.2 million representatives who have been elected from villages, towns and cities. We are also proud that 1.2 million of these elected representatives are women. Their participation in elected bodies is fundamental for the effective functioning of our democracy.

Even though significant steps have been taken for women's empowerment after independence yet the involvement of women in all areas of our national life as well as their empowerment, remains work in progress. Today, we face a paradox. While women especially in many of our rural areas face discrimination and oppression of various types, in many urban settings, a few have managed to break through the "glass ceiling" and made some inroads and have proved to be highly successful professionals, in varied fields. Many have become doctors, lawyers, bankers and entrepreneurs. Our endeavour is to give to all our women, the opportunity to be educated, to progress and to become self-reliant. Social evils like dowry, child marriage, female foeticide and female infanticide continue to exist in our society. These evils need to be dealt with and eradicated with a new vigor. Necessary legislation against these evils exists but to purge them from our society, mindsets need to be changed and prejudices against women abandoned.

A woman's perspective is indispensable for a broad-based and a balanced development process of a country. Women should be fully involved and brought to the forefront of sustainable development efforts. Harnessing their wisdom and expertise in various fields will be of immense value. Our development programmes, which to a large extent take into account the perspectives of women, can be made even more gender-sensitive. They should specifically address issues and concerns of women in different sectors ranging from agriculture to industry.

Millions of our women, who care for their families at home, work in the fields and factories, in laboratories and in institutions of higher education, as well as those who work in offices across the length and breadth of our nation, help in the progress of the country and in creating a stable future. Women's participation in political and economic activities of a society enriches the fabric of the nation. I call on the Government, society and families to encourage and support women's empowerment efforts.

I am sure that the Aruna Asaf Ali Birth Centenary celebrations will be an opportunity for our younger generation, especially our girls and young women, to become acquainted with the lifelong dedicated work of this strong personality, who symbolized our composite culture and is an inspiration for our young women.

In conclusion, I once again thank the National Federation of Indian Women for organizing this event.

Thank you.

JAI HIND

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