Thiruvananthapuram: National Women Legislators' Conference a first-of-its-kind The National Women Legislators' Conference-2022, billed as the first such gathering of women MLAs and MPs in the country, will be held at the Kerala Legislative Assembly Complex on May 26 and 27. Women speakers, deputy speakers and ministers all over India will be part of the conference.
President Ram Nath Kovind will inaugurate the two-day conference on May 26. This was announced by Speaker M B Rajesh in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.
The event is organised as part of Azad Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the 75th anniversary of Indian Independence. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla had earlier asked state Assemblies to devise inventive programmes to mark the 75th anniversary. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had inaugurated Kerala Assembly's 75th anniversary programmes on August 10, 2021.
Besides women legislators, the Conference will be attended by women from political, legal, social, cultural and media spheres. The Conference will be divided into four sessions.
The first session, 'Constitution and Women's Rights', will have as speakers Gujarat Speaker Nimaben Acharya, Lok Sabha MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, and former Rajya Sabha MP Brinda Karat.
The second session, 'Role of Women in India's Freedom Struggle', will witness presentations by Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule, Rajya Sabha MP Jebi Mather, and former MP Subhashini Ali.
The third and fourth sessions will be held on May 27. The third session, Women's Rights and Legal Gaps', will witness the participation of West Bengal women and child development minister Shashi Panja, Kerala High Court Judge Justice Anu Sivaraman, Jaya Bachchan MP and Delhi's deputy speaker Rakhi Birla.
The fourth session, 'Underrepresentation of Women in Decision-Making Bodies', will have Uttarakhand Speaker Ritu Khanduri, Telangana MLC Kavitha Kalvakuntla and the general secretary of the National Federation of Women, Annie Raja.
Speaker M B Rajesh said that 130 legislators from 17 States had already registered for the event. He said the Assembly had opened a special website for online registration.
Governor Arif Mohammed Khan will preside over the May 26 inaugural event at the Sankaranarayanan Thampi Members' Lounge in the Assembly. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Leader of Opposition V. D. Satheesan, Ministers Veena George, J. Chinchurani and R. Bindu will be present.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will inaugurate the valedictory on May 27 afternoon.
