‘Prashasan ki Paathshala’ to guide girls in shaping their careers
Taking governance to the next level, the Uttar Pradesh government has under its Mission Shakti campaign decided to hold counselling camps for girl students who aspire to make their career in civil services, the army, police, air force, medical, engineering and other fields where cracking cut- throat competitive examinations are the only way to get admissions.

Titled, ‘Prashasan ki Paathshala’ these camps were held in February in various districts of Uttar Pradesh. The district magistrates and other administrative officials of each district headed the camps and guided aspirants who enrolled for classes.

From February 1 to 13, awareness about the Domestic Violence Act, the Dowry Prohibition Act, Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013, etc. were carried out through meetings, seminars, nukkad nataks and also one-to-one interactions.

‘Haq ki baat jiladhikari ke sath’ is yet another event in which DMs had two-hour interactions with women regarding incidents of domestic violence, dowry, sexual harassment of women at the workplace. These women will be given guidance about legal remedies available for them.

Cops give training in self-defence
Self-defence training for girls across Uttar Pradesh has become an integral part of the Mission Shakti campaign. Under one such training programme, students were given tips on how to save themselves from the perpetrators and on tackling any unfavourable situation while standing up against harassment with courage. They were also given information about women helpline numbers. One training camp was held in Rae Bareli and another in Krishnanagar in Lucknow.

Arogya Mela was organised at 27 primary health centres functional in Hapur under the Mission Shakti campaign. The Samagra Shisksha organised awareness programme on road safety at the higher secondary school in Raghunathpur. Students made posters to spread the message about following traffic rules and urged people to wear helmets, follow traffic signals and drive slowly.

The students at Arya Kanya College in Brajghat and DM Public School at Garhmuketshwar were told about the precautions to be taken against coronavirus while the Women Welfare Department gave information about helpline numbers and also about the welfare schemes of the government such as Kanya Sumangala Yojana.

A discussion on female foeticide was organised at Malihabad block in Lucknow under the Mission Shakti campaign on Monday while in Sitapur, an LED van was used to spread awareness about the campaign.

Seminars held across the state to highlight women achievers
A seminar on ‘status of women in Indian society’ was organised by the Social Welfare Department under the Mission Shakti campaign across the state early in February where the seminar saw invited speakers from various fields dwelling on the issue of women empowerment. “The condition of women has improved to a considerable extent and they are making their mark in every field, including educational, social, financial and political,” the speakers said.

How women have successfully breached various male bastions was also highlighted for the gatherings, mostly of women participants, to motivate others to excel in their field and make a mark.

Women issues resolved at Jan Sunwai event
In order to redress the grievances of women victims, a public hearing event (Jan Sunwai) was organised at the PWD guest house in Rae Bareli. It was presided over by member of the State Women Commission Anju Prajapati on 3 Februaray. Several aggrieved women participated in the event which was held under the Mission Shakti campaign.

The Jan Sunwai was also held at the district headquarters at Barabanki where the complainants approached State Women Commission member Kumud Srivastava. A nari chaupal was also organised in development block Banki by the Women Welfare Department in the district where women were sensitised about female foeticide and gender discrimination.

Also, awareness programmes were held in Bachhrawan block in Rae Bareli where it was emphasised that children should also be aware of their rights and they should also realise that apart from earning their livelihood through pursuing education, they also have many social obligations to fulfill.

UP’s ‘Kanya Sumangala Scheme’ uplifts daughters of the state
The Uttar Pradesh government’s flagship scheme, ‘Mukhya Mantri Kanya Sumangala Yojana’ has started giving the desired results to the daughters of the state, as it is a step towards women empowerment.

The scheme launched on October 25, 2019, provides a fund worth Rs 15,000 to every family where a girl child is born. “Kanya Sumangala scheme has been designed in such a way that it ensures that parents take proper care of the girl child with respect to her health and education and other aspects, in order to get the benefit,” a senior official said.

The amount is released to the family in a phased manner in various installments when the girl child completes various milestones including at the time of birth, during vaccination, during her admission to Classes 1, 5 and 9 and graduation.

The state government has been executing the scheme with an aim to provide a bright future to the daughters of the state. “It has given direct benefits to 5.85 lakh girl students in primary, upper primary, secondary and higher education sectors under this scheme. In addition to this, the government has successfully reached out to the schools and colleges in all 75 districts to directly connect the eligible girls to this golden scheme,” the official said.

Deputy Director, Women Welfare Department, Ashutosh Kumar Singh, said that financial support is provided in a phased manner under this scheme. A sum of Rs 2,000 and Rs 1,000 are given at birth and vaccination respectively. It is followed by an assistance of Rs 2,000 at the time of admission in classes 1 and 6. The fifth installment of Rs 3,000 is given to girls enrolled in class 9 in the secondary schools.

Apart from this, girls who have passed class XII and have been admitted to colleges for graduation or any diploma course, get the sixth installment of a total of Rs 5,000, she said. The main objective of such a golden scheme is to encourage the birth of daughters in the state and boost welfare of female children and ensure a great future for them.

Director Women Welfare, Manoj Kumar Rai, said that such visionary schemes by the government, not only link daughters to education but also help in curbing and making people aware of the evil practices in society like female foeticide and child marriage.

“It is essential that women are given equal opportunities in order for the state to develop completely,” Rai said.