Friday, 24 December 2021 | PNS | Dehradun
The Delhi chief minister and national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Arvind Kejriwal’s recent announcement of providing monthly aid of Rs 1,000 to women of Uttarakhand every month has elicited a mixed response of women. While some said that the party should focus on making women independent rather than offering them freebies, others opined that this monthly financial help can help them in many ways. “The party leaders are claiming that they want to provide women financial stability, especially those in rural and remote areas, but Rs 1,000 will not make them independent. The party should focus on generating employment for them or teach them skills that would help them to earn their livelihood,” said Tehri resident Ekta Khansali.
Twenty three year old Piyusha Rawat from Mussoorie also opined that the parties should focus on making women capable enough to earn their own livelihood rather than making them dependent on others. She said, “Women should be offered opportunities, not money, to give them a chance to grow. I agree that this money might help some women but it will not be a permanent solution to their financial woes.” Meanwhile, some women welcomed this decision and said that Rs 1,000 per month will help them in many ways in their daily life. “Generating employment and getting jobs takes time and not every woman gets involved in it. Women can spend this money on things like personal hygiene. Many young girls and women in remote areas cannot afford to buy sanitary pads. A pack of good quality pads costs at least about Rs 30 to Rs 50 and a woman uses at least four packs every month. If a mother gets Rs 1,000 every month, she can buy such sanitary pads for her daughters and herself without worrying about the financial factor,” said Almora resident Uma Bisht. However, some also opined that this benefit should be offered to only those women who need it. Dehradun resident Ganga Bhandari said, “Some standard norms should be prepared to select the beneficiary rather than making blatant promises to please the voters. Why AAP is offering this monthly aid to every woman when not everybody needs it? People might not need it but they would not leave such perks which would cause a waste of public money if AAP wins 2022 assembly elections.”
