Need to change the way women are viewed, says President Murmu

NEW DELHI: President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday emphasised the need to change the way women are viewed and asserted the country's progress cannot be fully realised without their socio-economic and educational development.

Speaking at centenary celebrations of the Maharashtra Legislative Council in Mumbai, Murmu pointed out that women constitute half of India's population and added their active participation in various spheres was needed to take the country forward.

"Without their (women) socio-economic and educational progress, the country's development cannot be achieved the way it should be," she said.

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"There is a need to change the way we look at women," the president emphasised, comments coming in the backdrop of recent cases of crime against women, including the rape and murder of a junior doctor at a government hospital in Kolkata which has triggered a massive outrage.

She hailed the contributions of Veermata Jijabai, the mother of legendary Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and social reformer Savitribai Phule, one of the pioneers in the area of women's education.