‘Need wholesome empowerment of women’ in Nagaland

Our Correspondent
Kohima, March 7 (EMN): The chairperson of Nagaland State Women Commission (NSCW), Khrienuo Tachü, on Saturday said that Nagaland has failed to deliver wholesome empowerment of women in spite of numerous programmes and initiatives.

She asserted that though the literacy rate in Nagaland is high, the ‘empowering factor’ is yet to come to the fore.  “We need to retrospect as well as introspect on the current system of education, especially at the foundation level,” said Tachü.

She was speaking at the International Women’s Day Conclave 2020, held on the theme ‘generation equality through quality education’ at Hotel Vivor in Kohima on Saturday. The programme was organised by NSCW in collaboration with Nagaland College Principals’ Association.

“Quality education is empowering and can be the only agent that vibes well with Naga society irrespective of gender, age or tribe,” she stated.

Tachü maintained that Nagaland is fast becoming an ‘unproductive state and values of our society are deteriorating’.

As of 2019, Nagaland reported the lowest crime rate against women and there were several indexes of gender equality and development where the state was at par with other performing states, if not surpassing them, she informed.

“However, research findings and ground reality reveal that the state is lagging behind in qualitative and wholesome living,” she said, and suggested that it is essential for Naga men and  women to take complementary walk towards empowerment for a better Naga society.

Tachü went on to state that Naga women have come a long way and are making their mark in various fields today.

‘We are all individually responsible for our daily thoughts and actions and we can thus challenge stereotyping and bias, thereby broadening perspectives and improving situations,’ she said.

The chairperson further appealed to all the principals and stakeholders to provide quality education to Naga women and Naga girls on priority basis without discrimination so that “as educated men and women, together we will leap forward to a culturally sensitive, but nevertheless an equal, world”.

Visakhonu Hibo, principal of Japfü Christian College, Kigwema, said that ‘if we go to villages there is so much gender discrimination, especially towards the girl child; they will be allowed to study only till the school-level that exists in their village and then they will drop out’.

“Gender discrimination in providing formal education in Nagaland exists especially in rural villages where boy child is sent to private schools and the girl child to government schools,” Hibo said.

She suggested that to have equity in education, government schools that employ ‘highly-qualified teachers’ should revisit ethics, values and humanity that complement educational qualification of a good teacher.

She also opined that the education in Nagaland for too long has been more of a content delivery system and suggested that “essence of quality education that empowers all round development of individuals is to be fully realised in Nagaland, as also India as a country”.

She reminded that India’s performance in the area of Gender Development Index (GDI) remains abysmal as the country is ranked below many developing countries in Asia and Africa.

Hibo asked the principals and teachers to do away with tribalism, village-ism or ‘clannish attitudes’ and give their best wherever they are placed at, so that teaching continues to be a noble profession.

She further encouraged them to strengthen higher education in Nagaland by creating vibrant and robust colleges in their respective workplace.

Principal of Phek Government College, Vizovol Mekro stated that of late, in the field of education, girls were performing better; citing that there were more girls enrolled for exams and there were more girl toppers.

“The better performance of all the girls should alarm the boys, shake them out of lethargy and motivate them to work harder,” he said.