By Isaac Harold Gomes

Kolkata, Jan 3, 2022: When federal Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget in the Parliament February 1, she announced, “Our government has comprehensively revamped schemes of the Ministry of Women and Child Development such as Mission Shakti, Mission Vatsalya, Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 to provide benefits.”

The minister said that with the help of these schemes, women and children will get major benefits.

What is Mission Shakti?

Women empowerment has always been a major issue in our country. The government has introduced several schemes in order to improve women’s social and economical growth. Among them is Mission Shakti. The main aim is to promote women’s empowerment and their safety.

What is Mission Vatsalya?

Mission Vatsalya was launched by the Maharashtra government for those women who lost their husbands due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “The new program ‘Mission Vatsalya’ has been designed for widows, especially from rural areas who come from poor backgrounds and deprived sections. Due to the death of the sole breadwinner in their families, their hardship is increased. Considering these all aspects, a bunch of 18 benefits, schemes, and services will be provided to these widows under one roof,” Women and Child Development (WCD) Minister Yashomati Thakur said.

What are Saksham Anganwadi and Mission Poshan 2.0?

Saksham Anganwadi and mission Poshan 2.0 were introduced in last year’s budget. Anganwadi services, Poshan Abhiyan, scheme for adolescent girls, and national creche scheme falls under Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0. The main aim of Poshan 2.0 was to strengthen nutritional content, delivery, outreach, and outcome.

Saksham Anganwadis are new generation anganwadis that have better infrastructure and audio-visual aids, powered by clean energy and providing an improved environment for early child development (ECD). The Union Finance Minister announced that two lakh anganwadis will be upgraded under the Scheme. (Source: Jagran English 01/02/2022).

Though Nari Shakti has been identified as the harbinger of the country’s bright future and for women-led development, surprisingly there was no talk and budgetary allocation on the moot point, which is to encourage women to learn self-defense, the cornerstone of Women Empowerment. For all the thumping of tables, ironically no woman MP raised this point. The Predators’ Forum must have chuckled in their sleeves.

In the context of Nari Shakti, nuns should stop wailing on the wall of the hierarchy regarding their safety and security, often within their own sanctuary: they will end up in the mire of The Hound of Baskervilles.

It is logical that nuns are not outside the purview of the Union Finance Minister’s clarion call of Nari Shakti. Instead of being brain-washed under the vow of Obedience, into submitting to the not-so-spiritual demands of Superior (read: divine) Authority, they should put their foot down (starting with ironing clothes and carrying luggage from car), and take all means to protect themselves from wolves in sheep’s clothing.

One sure-fire option is to go in for learning self-defense without batting an eyelid, and of course with their superiors’ informed consent. The Superiors too should not rule themselves out, considering the still aflame Mulakkal case. Readers may look up Brinda Karat’s article in NDTV captioned “The Acquittal of Kerala Bishop is Best Example of A Bad Judgement.” The link is https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/character-assassinating-a-nun-to-save-a-bishop-2712869

Ironically, Mulakkal verdict is being tom-tommed as a “Victory of the Church” as if the nun’s are floating members of the Church, with minimal rights. In this context, it’s high time our own Nari Shakti i.e. Diocesan Women’s Commission (and also the Youth Commission) woke up from its slumber!