NEW DELHI, June 21: To reduce the dependence of women panchayat members on their male family members when discharging their official duties, the Women and Child Development (WCD) ministry is planning to train them in areas like public interaction and Information Technology.
WCD minister Krishna Tirath said here that the United States had showed interest in providing such training and she had already sought a go-ahead from the ministry of external affairs on the matter.
“We have to stop what is referred to as ‘pati panch’, so we want to train them. There is a training session that will be held in Bangladesh and we want India should head there”, Tirath told news persons.
The course for the elected representatives was being conducted with the assistance of the American government at the Asian Training Institute in Dhaka in Bangladesh, she said.
“Women representatives will be trained about what their work is, what their duties are and how they should interact with the public”, the WCD minister said.
“It should not happen that any of them is dependent on their husbands or brothers in a way that they can’t function without the help of their family members”, she added.
She planned to take around 100 women representatives in local bodies to Bangladesh so that after their training they become master trainers and hold sessions for other elected women.
“I have also written a letter to External Affairs Minister S M Krishna that I want to sign MoUs with the US Government on areas related to women empowerment, education, etc.,” Tirath said.
During her recent visit to the United States, Tirath said that she had discussed women and child issues with American secretary of state Hillary Clinton who said that these subjects were very close to her heart. (PTI)
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