Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday said proper upbringing of boys can play an important role in curbing violence against girl and women. Addressing a function organised to mark the International Women's Day, Sawant urged women to add spiritual element to their physical and mental fitness. At the event, 50 women from different fields were felicitated. “Women should achieve physical and mental fitness and at the same time, add spiritual fitness to it,” he said, hailing one of the women honoured at the function who plays badminton at the age of 80.
Referring to instances of violence against women, the chief minister said there should not be any discrimination between girls and boys right from the time of their birth. “If a boy has a good upbringing since his childhood, we can certainly ensure there is no violence against women in the future. This attempt should start from our homes,” he said. The Goa CM said the central government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given priority to addressing women-related issues.
“There is focus on issues like menstrual hygiene. There is a proposal to provide menstrual pads at a nominal cost of Re 1 under the Jan Aushadhi scheme (of the Centre that provides cheap generic medicines to patients),” Sawant said.