'When women are empowered, history is created', says Vardhan
Mar 09, 2021
New Delhi [India], March 9 : On the occasion of International Women's Day Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has asserted that history is created when women are empowered.
Speaking at a webinar organised by the World Health Organization (WHO) on the occasion of International Women's Day, Vardhan said, "In India, we call our revered Motherland as Matribhumi, quite in consonance with the Indian tradition which ordains high and respectable position for women in society. For us, in India, the Motherland was not meant to be metaphorical, but a real, feminised figure. "Our history," wrote one of our greatest leaders, is the sacred biography of the Mother. Our philosophies are the revelations of the Mother's mind. Our arts - our poetry and our painting, our music and our drama, our architecture and our sculpture, our religion is the organized expression of the soul of the Mother. The outsider knows her as India, but we know our country as Mother or Matribhumi, the land of our mother. In short, India reveres its women."
The Minister added, "I have always said where there is a woman, there is magic. Today's celebration is not about making our women stronger. Women are already strong. It's about changing the way the world perceives that strength."
Reiterating and apprising the role played by women scientists and women in the field of global health during the ongoing pandemic, he noted, "India has been home to women leaders over the centuries, be it in the field of polity or religion, education or business.
"For me personally, it is a matter of great pride that Indian women continue to contribute and lead in the sphere of global health as well. As chair of WHO's Executive Board, I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge that during the toughest challenges that humanity faced during COVID pandemic times, women across the world played the role of saviours with great elan," he said.
The Minister further stated, "It has only reconfirmed an established fact that when women are empowered and placed on the frontline, history is created. In fact, 2020 which I have often called the Year of Science, and which has helped us combat this dreaded disease, has its fair share of women scientists that have furthered the cause."
Recapitulating the government's commitment towards empowering women, the Union Minister said, "Today, on International Women's day, as we reflect upon the progress made in unleashing the shackles imposed over our women, I reiterate that gender equality and women safety has always been an integral part of my government's policymaking and governance.
Vardhan concluded by reminding everyone that India believes in the magic of Ardhanareeshwar, which establishes the fact that our civilisation always considered a man and a woman as equals. They are complete only when they complement each other.
