Statement by India under Agenda Item 3: Interactive dialogue with the Working Group on discrimination against Women and Girls at the 53rd Session of Human Rights Council (19 June - 14 July 2023) delivered by Ms. Seema Pujani, First Secretary, Permanent Mission of India, Geneva, 22 June 2023
Madam Vice-President,
- We thank the Working Group for its report and welcome its conclusions and recommendations. We agree that the Covid pandemic has exacerbated inequalities between the Global North and Global South and had a disproportionate impact on the lives of women and girls.
Madam Vice-President,
- India is deeply committed to the rights of women and girls. The principle of gender equality is enshrined in the Constitution. We have taken several steps to end all forms of discrimination against women and girls through legislative, schematic and policy interventions.
- We are empowering women and girls through access to education, resources, financing, and digital literacy. In the last decade, over 250 million bank accounts have been opened for women, greatly increasing their access to financial services, including for loans for entrepreneurial initiatives. We are encouraging economic independence of women through skill development and vocational training. Enabling provisions have been incorporated in the recently enacted Labor Codes for a congenial environment for women workers. Provision of safe drinking water and sanitation services, especially in rural areas, has directly benefited women and girls, contributing immensely to their ease and quality of life.
Madam Vice-President,
- The Government of India has made a paradigm shift from empowerment of women to women-led development. This is a transformational shift, where women are not just beneficiaries of development but, in fact, drivers of the nation’s economic development and social progress.
I thank you.
