National Commission of Women
(NCW) chairperson Rekha Sharma on Friday said that the women of the
northeastern region are yet to be fully empowered even though they are
actively involved in economic activities.
While speaking at the inaugural session of the one-day seminar ‘Empowering Women Through Entrpreneurship’ held at the North Eastern Council
in Shillong, Sharma said women are often denied property rights and are
also not allowed to freely spend the money they earn through their hard
work.
The chairperson also said that entrepreneurial enterprise
can go a long way in empowering women from becoming not only job seekers
but job providers too.
She further added that the issue on nation
building cannot be discussed by ignoring 50 per cent of the population
and the country can move forward only when women are asked to
participate in these topics.
Stating that women often face more
challenges than men when setting up a business, Sharma urged on all
women who have taken up entrepreneurial activities to talk about their
achievements so as to encourage others.
She advised the women
entrepreneurs of the Northeast to utilize social media and e-commerce
platforms to sell their products and get market access as they might
face difficulties due to geographical location of the region.
Soso Shaiza, a member of NCW described about the financial and socio-economic challenges faced by women entrepreneurs and the strategies that can be used to overcome them.
During
the programme, five successful women entrepreneurs of the Northeast
encouraged the audience narrating their remarkable journeys and
achievements.
The five entrepreneurs are Tanushree Hazarika, Leena Saikia, Lakshmi Baruah, Janessaline M Pyngrope and Queency Thangkhiew.
