Women-led development is possible only when they get the freedom to implement their choices, President Droupadi Murmu said in Meghalaya’s Garo Hills on January 16.
Interacting with members of self-help groups (SHGs) at the Baljek Airport near Tura, the nerve centre of the Garo Hills, the President underlined the importance of the cooperative route to augment family income and happiness.
“The idea of women-led development can be implemented only when women get the freedom to implement their choices. I do not mean that women can make decisions only if they are the earning member of the family but economic self-reliance builds self-confidence in women,” Ms. Murmu said.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said his alliance government had been focussing on empowerment through the SHGs. “We had less than 4,600 SHGs when we took over the government in 2018. Today, we have increased the number of such groups to nearly 45,000,” he said at a programme showcasing the products of the SHGs.
He said almost every rural household in Meghalaya has a woman who is a member of one SHG or the other.
“Our government does not believe in scheme-based development. We believe in the stakeholder-based and purpose-driven approach for the youth, women, and farmers of Meghalaya,” Mr. Sangma said.
