Port Blair, Mar 8: On the eve of International Women’s Day, the Islands’ Progressive Women Co-operative Society (IPWCS), a group of Self-helping women entrepreneurs working in cooperation in the Islands towards fulfilling the objective of women empowerment through Self-employment, organized a charity function ‘Kanya-Shree’ in-aid of upbringing and educating of 33 nos. of underprivileged girl-children towards necessary women empowerment through spreading the message of ‘self-dependence’.
The First Lady of A&N Islands, Smt. Prem Mukhi was the chief guest on the occasion. The programme was held in the premises of the I. P. Women Co-operative Society’s Sale-Outlet at Middle Point (near BJP Bhavan) here this evening. The Chairperson, SSWB, Dr. Poonam Arora, Councilor Ward No. 6, Ms. Protima Banerjee and representative of Pranab Kanya Ashram were present on the occasion.
Addressing the gathering, the First Lady said, ‘today marks a very important day in the lives of every woman across the globe’. Women today are making tremendous strides in various walks of life and their confidence level has also increased manifold, she added. She also mentioned about the status of women during Vedic age and said, women those days were given due respect and they enjoyed a very good status in the society and reading about them inspires us in many ways. Urging women to come forward and excel in life, she said women should be aware of their rights and responsibilities. The Islands women are aware of their rights and they are equally talented, she said.
The First Lady further stated that all must make use of the good opportunity the life offers and strive to make a meaningful living. Every day is women’s day as women are the chords that bind the family together, she added. The First Lady also bestowed her blessings on the members of Islands’ Progressive Women Co-operative Society for working towards women welfare. She also lauded the Chairperson, SSWB Dr. Poonam Arora for her various initiatives towards women empowerment. She urged the girl children of Pranab Kanya Ashram to work hard and march towards a brighter future with confidence.
The First Lady presented readymade garments made by the member fashion designers to 33 girl children of Pranab Kanya Ashram on the occasion. She also evinced keen interest in the products made by SHGs.
Earlier, Smt. Kakali Podder, Secretary-cum-Chief Designer Women Co-operative Society presented shawl to the First Lady on the occasion. A welcome song was presented by the children of Pranab Kanya Ashram.
The programme concluded with the vote of thanks proposed by Smt. Divya Paul.
