Nobody deserves to live a life in a cage, or in shackles. Not even birds and animals at zoos. But women across society spectrums, for years, have lived chained to their fates. Fathers here dread the birth of a girl child. Not because he loves her less, but because he fears the torture for her and the family by society. This, often, drives him to kill even his own flesh and blood.
The picture has changed somewhat. But we still read reports of female foeticide and killing of a girl child and honour killing. Girls cannot choose their own lives. Mothers cannot ensure the safety of their own children, either. But lives of women can change with empowerment through proper education and with being self-sufficient. And women in power can show others the way.
Recently, the Indian Chamber of Commerce organized an Interactive Session on Women in Business with Chief Guest Venus Asawapoom, Consul-General, Royal Thai Consulate, Kolkata. The session focused primarily on the challenges faced by women in today’s world and ways to overcome them.
In her deliberations, Asawapoom mentioned successful women of India over generations and also elaborated briefly on Thai best practices that have helped women become empowered. She also praised the Kanyashree scheme in Bengal that has helped girls become educated and self-sufficient before getting married.
Nayantara Palchoudhuri, Chairperson, Women’s Empowerment Expert Committee, Indian Chamber of Commerce, along with other members of the committee, graced the session and spoke of their expertise.
Key takeaways from Venus Asawapoom
- Women face huge struggles within themselves and society for establishing themselves as independent and empowered individuals. So, it is essential that there is concrete support from their homes to help them overcome these challenges and move forward
- Women need to feel safe when they go out to work. This safety should be from both physical and psychological abuses and discouragement
- Support from home is not enough. Governments need to have strong policies to support women in society. However, this support does not mean giving special treatment to women, but to lend a helping hand in the basic requirements, such as education, health and so on
How Thailand has made a difference
- The more educated its people, the more society benefits. So, Thailand has brought in robust and encouraging projects that make a difference in supporting its citizens
- Thailand believes in equal opportunity for all, irrespective of gender. Equal opportunity has resulted in 50% of female diplomats being employed in the Ministry of Thailand
