TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: In the backdrop of the debate on the safety of women across the country including Goa, experts in this field Thursday felt that society should bring a change in the mindset of the people to prevent crimes against the fairer sex.
“In the present day there is news about rapes and other forms of crimes committed against women, everyday. It’s so awful,” Goa State Social Welfare Board (GSSWB) Secretary B N Kambli told the gathering, while participating at a two-day workshop on “Rights of the girl child and future implications of imbalanced sex ratio” Thursday.
The workshop, organized by the GSSWB focused on a wide spectrum of issues pertaining to gender discrimination, its ramifications, crime and atrocities against women.
The speakers also lamented that indiscipline in the society is the major cause for rising crimes against women. Resource person Jorson Fernandes said, “Crimes against women are going on for several decades and indiscipline in the society is the main cause.”
Probable occurrence of female foeticide in Goa was also debated at length. “We speak about giving equal status to women but female foeticide is still happening in Goa…the gender mentality should be changed,” Kambli alleged.
Board chairperson Manisha Naik said that women should be firm to give birth to a girl child notwithstanding the pressures of her husband or in-laws. “Women are usually pressurized by husband or in-laws for sex determination, which is an offence. If it’s a girl, the woman is asked to abort the child; but she should stand firm to give birth,” she stated.
Chief Guest and chairperson of Bal Bhavan Kunda Chodankar also echoed the same opinion about equality of women in practicality. She also insisted on checking whether State-schemes for women actually reach them or not and whether they are happy benefiting from the schemes.
The speakers at the workshop on the rights of girl child lamented that indiscipline in the society is the major cause for rising crimes against women.
