Tarun Vijay appeals for global solidarity to end gender discrimination

ADDIS ABABA: Speaking at the 'Women in Parliaments Global Forum' in Addis Ababa, member of Parliament Tarun Vijay quoting Mahatma Gandhi said, "give women the freedom to make choices and make decisions".
Tarun Vijay said, "I am proud to be here when my nation has the largest number of women MPs post-Independence, largest number of women members at the grass-root village assemblies (gram panchayats) - 1.4 million - who are changing the destiny of India."
The MP said crimes against women are not necessarily due to poverty."Like the UK and US, we too are fighting this menace with determination in India. Let's fight together and forge universal solidarity," he said.
Tarun Vijay said PM Narendra Modi’s 'toilet revolution' will help build 12 million toilets for women.
The revolutionary 'Jandhan' scheme, he said, empowered women the most. "I was in Ladakh to inaugurate this scheme when a bank manager asked a woman to sign a form. She was perplexed and said, 'but sir, only big and influential people sign. I can merely write my name. When the manager taught her to sign, that was a defining moment for her and she felt empowered. A mere opportunity to put a signature brought about a change in her life. It's the power to make her own decision that she enjoys," he said.
Quoting father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi, Tarun Vijay said women don't need protection, but the freedom to make choices and the freedom to make decisions. "Poetess Andal who was born in Tamil Nadu 1300 years ago is a great symbol of that power - making choices for herself and challenging male domination in that era."
"India’s legacy is to respect women. I begin from the great women’s emancipator and liberator poetess Andal from Tamil Nadu, who dared the male-dominated society and declared that she has a right to make her choices 1,300 years ago. From Andal to Lal Dyad of Kashmir and to Sister Nivedita and Rani Gaidinliu, who fought against the British at the age of 16, and Indira Gandhi, to our present day world boxing champion Mary Kom, India's is a story of women empowerment. In a world which has seen Joan of Arc being burnt and some countries where women were granted voting rights just recently, we need to forge a solidarity to fight gender inequality," he said.