Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi today said women empowerment has economic, social and political sides and her Ministry has taken initiatives on all fronts. Making a presentation at All India Women’s Journalists’ Workshop in New Delhi, the Minister appealed the journalists to be agents of change. She said it is a historic event marking the empowerment of women journalists from across the nation.
Saying that the Ministry has started with a comprehensive response to the issue of Women’s Safety, Mrs Gandhi outlined the steps taken in this regard. She said, four lakh anganwadis will be constructed till 2019 for which 182.6 crore rupees has been released in 2015-16. She informed that smartphones have been given to anganwadis so that every time they feed a child, they have to send pictures for real time monitoring.
The Minister praised Childline, a unique 24-hour counseling service for children and young people. She informed that they get 40,000 calls a day at Childline and 5 to 6 lakhs have been helped. Mrs Gandhi said, through the Childline, 56 children were rescued from being kidnapped at Itarsi recently.