HON'BLE DR. DAGGUBATI PURANDESHWARI

India has long been cherished as the 'Karma Bhumi' and we have had sages and seers who have travelled the length and breathe of our country. The wise words that have come from these learned sages and seers have been kept alive by the good work of great people like Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji himself.
Right through the ages, Indian women have always been given a high place of dignity and divinity. However, women in India live in a dichotomous situation – on the one hand, women are revered, on the other there is an assumption that she needs to be protected and sheltered.
Then there is discrimination at various levels– this is despite all the legislations in the country- Legislation that prevents people from identifying the gender of the foetus, legislation that says dowry must not be given nor be accepted, legislation that says that we provide protection from domestic violence, legislation that says that the girl child has equal rights on the property of the parents 
So what should be the answer to this? The only answer is Education.
Times are changing and women are becoming empowered. There is a need to redefine what we mean by empowerment. Empowerment is how you balance your family life with your professional life, which many Indian women are doing today. It's probably this that makes Indian women proud in the global scenario today, because they have been trying their best to achieve this balance. 
Today, technology is touching every aspect of life we need to ensure that the future generation is comfortable with the technology.To make rural women comfortable with technology, we have to do a lot more work at the ground level in bridging the gaps. Onealso needs to take technology to the women in small to medium enterprises who are actually the engines of growth for the country because they employ the largest number of people.

Sound Bites

• The time is right to bring in the kind of education that would sensitise people in society against all the atrocities that the women are being faced with in India today.It should be that kind of education that gives the women the strength to stand up and say that this is my right and I need it and you need to give it to me.
• There is discrimination at various levels– this is despite all the legislations in the country.
• We have a self help group which is a silent revolution in our country, which is trying to empower women by providing them with micro-finance and trying to give them the confidence that they can do it, that they can go forward and stand on their own two feet.
• We need technology in the rural areas for health and medicine, and connect them to the urban areas where they have the facilities.
• In Agriculture Technology should appraise the woman on the climatic conditions, remedies for parasites, health of the soil, what kind of seeds, and after all this, what kind of prices will she get in the market.
• Today, it's the right time to convert the ideas into a land of opportunities, by reaching out to every woman and child in the remotest area of our country.