NCW takes 500 women representatives from rural, urban local bodies on day-long training session at Parliament

New Delhi: The National Commission for Women and the Institute of Constitutional and Parliamentary Studies on Friday, as per an initiative called ‘Panchayat Se Parliament’, took around 500 elected women sarpanch for a one-day training session at the central hall of Parliament.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who interacted with the women, said that while India is setting the agenda for the world, the women and youth will play an important role in the economic development. “Our villages need to be self-reliant to accelerate the pace of economic development of the country. Our women are at the forefront of development in all fields. However, we need to bridge the gap so that the current pace of development is accelerated. Without gender equality, it will be difficult to achieve the current challenges of poverty alleviation, economic growth, sustainable development and environmental protection,” Birla said.

NCW said that the programme was carried out as part of a series it has started on recognising women as changemakers. “It’s pivotal for women to embrace the dual role of not just being voters, but also stepping forward as candidates themselves,” chairperson Rekha Sharma said.

The women were trained by experts on the legal framework of the Panchayati Raj system, and discussions on gender-sensitive governance were also held. BJP Lok Sabha MP Manoj Tiwari spoke to the sarpanches about gender-sensitive governance.

In a key session, the women were taught about the role that the Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping plays in rural planning. “Their contribution highlighted GIS as a crucial tool offering essential services to rural areas. Specifically, the session emphasized how GIS aids in Land Records Management, enabling activities like land acquisition, crop rotation, taxation, and revenue collection in rural regions,” the NCW said in a release.