Nirmala Sitharaman dubs patriarchy a ‘Leftist concept’, asks ‘how did Indira Gandhi…?’
Sitharaman discussed government innovation support and youth internships with CMS Business School students. She challenged patriarchal norms, encouraging women to assert themselves, and cited historical female figures as examples of breaking barriers in society and science.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman dubbed patriarchy a ‘concept invented by the Left’ on Saturday as she addressed a college event in Bengaluru. She also countered conventional views on patriarchy and urged women to “stand up for themselves” and forge ahead in public spaces.
“Don’t get carried away by fantastic jargons. If you're able to stand up for yourself and speak logically, patriarchy cannot stop women, certainly not in a country like India. Patriarchy couldn't stop freedom fighters like Aruna Asaf Ali, Sarojini Naidu and others. Women are sending such wonderful satellites, rockets and spaceships and most of those women wear saree, have clumsy hair etc. Which patriarchy stopped these scientists here?” she asked.
The Finance Minister cited several people including former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi as shining examples of women who had broken through the glass ceiling.
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Sitharaman met students from CMS Business School on Saturday and discussed various measures undertaken by the Centre to support innovation. She also touched upon various government schemes available for young people — including 1 crore internships for ‘unemployable youth’ in the age group of 21 to 24 years old.
"We do not just support innovation by bringing out policies," she said, adding that the Indian government is doing its best to ensure that such innovations find markets too.
She cited the support mechanism that is available for MSMEs as an example. The FM said 40% of all government procurements is coming from MSMEs.
"That is why we have more than 2 lakh startups today in India and more than 130 have become unicorns. The opportunity is immense but is not fully utilised," she added.
Sitharaman also reviewed the performance of 10 Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) of the Southern Region on Saturday. According to a social media post by the Ministry of Finance, she reviewed the performance of RRBs of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and UT of Puducherry.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Business NewsNewsIndiaNirmala Sitharaman dubs patriarchy a ‘Leftist concept’, asks ‘how did Indira Gandhi…?’
First Published:9 Nov 2024, 09:03 PM IST
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