West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday claimed that her state ranks number one in terms of women empowerment while promising to retain the position in the coming years.
Addressing a rally here on the occasion of International Women's Day, Mamata said: "Many people talk of women's reservation only before elections. All India Trinamool Congress is the only party which has 35 per cent elected women members in the Lok Sabha."
Further contending that women of West Bengal are the "backbone of the state," she added, "Our state has done exceptionally well in all regards. Bengal has 50 per cent reservation for women in panchayats and municipalities. We have increased child care leave for women to 730 days and have instituted scholarships like Kanyashree and Sikshashree for students all across the state. People in my state live in harmony."
Mamata also claimed that a record 48 per cent of women have participated in the 100 Days' Work scheme under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
International Women's Day is celebrated on March 8 every year.
The origin of International Women's Day goes back to February 28, 1909, when the erstwhile Socialist Party of America organised a Women's Day in New York. Two years later, the International Socialist Woman's Conference suggested that the day should be celebrated annually.
The first time this event was celebrated on March 8 was in 1917. after women in Soviet Russia finally gained suffrage. The day was, henceforth, declared a holiday in Soviet Russia and eventually adopted by the United Nation in 1975.