Empowerment of women vital for progressive society: Pratibha Patil

President Pratibha Patil today called for empowerment of women and protection of their rights for a progressive and stable society.

New Delhi/Srinagar, Dec 10 : President Pratibha Patil today called for empowerment of women and protection of their rights for a progressive and stable society.

On the occasion of International Human Rights Day, Patil termed human dignity as the backbone of human rights.

She said that poverty is the biggest violator of human rights as it deprives the poor of basic needs like nutrition, shelter, education, health, safe drinking water.

"A sustained effort to empower women is essential to deliver on our commitment to ensure equality with respect to political, economic and social rights. Protection of their human rights calls for improved law enforcement and enforcing accountability for those who commit violence and atrocities against women. Rights of women must be protected if a society is to be stable and progressive," she said.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janta Party organised a function for victims of violence in Nandigram in West Bengal.

Speaking on the occasion, party president Rajnath Singh equated the Nandigram violence with the worst cases of atrocities around the world.

"Those who heard about or saw the incidents in Nandigram must have wondered over what the real face of the CPI-M (Communist Party of India-Marxist) is? The real face of the CPI-M is extremely ugly," he said.

Meanwhile, protests were organised in Srinagar against the human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir.

Hundreds of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) activists staged a peaceful protest in Srinagar.

JKLF activists presented a memorandum at the United Nations office in Srinagar.

"We submitted a memorandum against custodial deaths, involuntary disappearances, destruction of property, rape and molestation of women," said JKLF Vice Chairman Bashir Ahmad Bhat

Human rights activists have consistently voiced their concerns over the reported custodial killings and sham arrests in the Valley.

ANI