Women have their day and say in Uttar Pradesh Assembly

Making a history of sorts, the Uttar Pradesh assembly dedicated an entire day to its women members on Thursday.

Barring chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Leader of the opposition Akhilesh Yadav, only the women members were allowed to speak in the House.

All the women legislators in the assembly got an opportunity to speak on various issues concerning women, as well as their respective assembly constituencies. While many of them spoke on women’s issues and the problems in their constituencies, some recited poems to give vent to their feelings.

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Speaking in the assembly, Adityanath hailed the decision to dedicate an entire day to the women members and said it should have been done long back.

He also quoted from Hindu scriptures to drive home the message that the women played a great role in society and nation building. “The UP assembly has made history today,” he said.

“It has been seen that the women members do not get opportunities to speak in the house as the male members dominate the show,” the chief minister said. He also highlighted various schemes and programmes the state government had initiated for the welfare of the women in the state.

Akhilesh, in his speech, expressed concern over rising incidents of crimes against women and called for making stringent laws to deal with the perpetrators.

Women from different walks of life were also invited to sit in the visitor’s gallery in the assembly to listen to the women members of the house.