Sonia seeks effective enforcement of laws for women

Congress president Sonia Gandhi Saturday said that making laws for the empowerment of women alone would not suffice unless they were effectively enforced.

"We realise that by just making laws and announcing policies would not be enough to empower women. Along with it, policies and laws will have to be implemented properly on ground," she said at the launch of 'Ahimsa Messenger Scheme' that is aimed to generate awareness amongst the people about the rights of women.

The Congress chief's call comes in the wake of the spate of crimes against women across the country.

Under the Ahimsa Messenger Scheme, volunteers would be trained to take the message of women's rights across the society.

Gandhi, who had a key role behind the campaign for awareness about the women's rights, called for ending all violence against the women and for taking steps for making women feel safe, fearless, empowered and getting the respect due to them.

Describing as a "very big challenge" the fight to secure same status for women as was being enjoyed by men, she called for "social revolution" by changing the mindset and thought of the society and demolishing the wall of discrimination that perpetuates uneven treatment of women.

Gandhi said that the initiative for changing the mindset of the society has to come collectively from women themselves by according equal status to women in their own homes.

"We all know that the social outlook of our children is formed inside the four walls of our homes. The girl in the family should be given the same status as that of her brother in a family. Girls too have a right to get education, development and employment as that of the boy in the family," she stressed.