President Droupadi Murmu, on Wednesday, appealed to all men to recognise the potential of women and support them in realising their dreams.

Any obstacle created in the progress of women slows down the pace of development of society and the country, she said while addressing a gathering of beneficiaries of ‘Shasan Aplya Dari’ and ‘Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojna’ of the Government of Maharashtra at Udgir.

The President called the ‘Shasan Aplya Dari’ and ‘Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojna’ important steps towards building an inclusive and prosperous society and country. She was happy to note that women in Maharashtra are becoming self-reliant with the help of the Central and state government schemes.

She appreciated the state government for providing financial literacy and skills to women as well as generating livelihood opportunities for them. She noted that the state government is taking various steps for transparent and accountable governance. The government is delivering basic services at the doorsteps of citizens so that they do not have to run around government offices for those services.

The President said that the initiatives for women’s empowerment give her immense satisfaction. It is said that under similar circumstances, women have more sense and understanding of using the economic resources of the family for the common good than men. ”It is believed that if we educate a man, we educate only one person. But if we educate a woman, we educate the entire family and the future generation. This is also true for economic empowerment. If women are economically empowered, then the whole family and the future generation will also be empowered,” she added.

The President was pleased to note that through the ‘Lakhpati Didi’ Scheme of the Centre, around one crore women across the country have become Lakhpati Didi. She said this initiative is increasing self-confidence, awareness, and new consciousness in women.

The President noted that in the last few years, women’s participation in the workforce has increased significantly. She said that women are now contributing to nation building in every field. However, more efforts are needed to increase the participation of women further.