Srinagar, Oct 12: Jammu and Kashmir Finance Minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig said there was need to enact laws and build public opinion for uprooting the tentacles of gender discrimination in the society. But laws alone could not eradicate gender discrimination and the women themselves should come forward for their cause, he said at inauguration of two-day national seminar on 'gender justice - law and policy' organised by the Department of Law, Kashmir University and State Commission for Women here yesterday. A debate is going on in the country for the past so many years regarding 30 per cent reservation for women in state legislatures and parliament, but what has come out so far, he asked. Women should take the initiative and instead of waiting for reservations jump into political fray and fight for their rights, he said. For the gender bias prevalent in the system, he blamed the family and society as well. The gender bias starts right at the home, where a mother discriminates between a boy and a girl, he said, adding the change has to start at home itself.
The society needs to be made sensitive towards the issues concerning the women which can be done none else than the women themselves, he added.
Bureau Report