Uttaranchal women panchayat raj functionary receives accolades

Holding high the banner of Uttaranchal Maina Devi, Gram Pradhan of Dhulkot village, Sahaspur Block in Dehradun walked up proudly on stage to receive her award for “Outstanding Women Panchayat Leader Award” bestowed on her by Girja Vyas, Chairperson, National Commission for Women, which was celebrating April 24 as Women’s Political Empowerment Day. She also received a trophy, commendation letter and cash prize of Rs. 10,000.

She was a part of the 19 member strong Elected Women Functionaries team facilitated by Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra.

RLEK with the aid of it’s sister organisation Panchayati Rule and Gender Awareness Training Institute has been operating in the entire with focus on training and empowering Elected Women Functionaries with emphasis on Schedule Caste, Schedule Tribe and other backward classes.

“If it had not been for the efforts of various RLEK trainers who had repeatedly visited me, trained me and encouraged me, I would never have been able to do the development work and fight against injustice in my village,” said an emotional Maina.

The central theme of the two-day conference was "Panchayats & Child Rights- Birth Registration as the First right to Identity". The event took place in the Constitution Club, Rafi Marg, New Delhi. In addition, there were several plenary sessions and group discussions on various themes. Experts and Activists on child rights and panchayats, registration of birth and deaths, micro-planning etc. also addressed the gathering and they were available for the interactive session with the mass. A variety of cultural shows were also organised by the NGO partners.