Varanasi: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said the government would make no compromise on the safety and dignity of women, asserting that those who threaten girls and women would have only “jail or hell” as their destination. Addressing a working women’s felicitation ceremony in Pindra assembly constituency of Varanasi, he said women’s participation was no longer confined to the household but had become central to the state’s social, economic and developmental progress.
Taking a swipe at opponents, Yogi said some people try to divide society along caste lines for vote-bank politics but “lose their nerve” when action is taken against dreaded mafias and criminals. Even when their own families suffer, he said, such people are seen pleading before mafias. “The double-engine government does not bow before mafias. The law will take its course, irrespective of how influential a criminal may be,” he said.
The Chief Minister said women can pursue education, employment, business and public life only when they feel secure. He recalled that before 2017, families often worried about the safety of daughters going to school, lack of toilets, cooking smoke, healthcare expenses, household income and inadequate connectivity. The government, he said, first sought to remove fear, then expanded opportunities through education, skills, employment and entrepreneurship.
Yogi said the number of women police personnel in Uttar Pradesh had risen from around 10,000 in 2017 to nearly 44,000 and would cross 50,000 after the ongoing recruitment. Mission Shakti centres, women beat police officers and an integrated women beat system have been introduced, while helplines including 1090 and 181 support women’s safety. Three women PAC battalions are also being established, named after Veerangana Avanti Bai Lodhi, Uda Devi Pasi and Jhalkari Bai.
He linked improved roads and transport connectivity with women’s empowerment, saying highways, expressways, airports, railways and metro networks have reduced distances to schools, colleges, markets and workplaces. Projects such as the Purvanchal, Bundelkhand, Ganga and Gorakhpur Link Expressways, he said, have expanded access to opportunities.
The Chief Minister highlighted schemes covering different stages of a girl’s life, including Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao, Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana and Mukhyamantri Kanya Sumangala Yojana. Under Kanya Sumangala, a package of ₹25,000 is provided from birth through graduation. He said more than five lakh girls had been married under the Mukhyamantri Samuhik Vivah Yojana.
Yogi also announced that preparations were underway to connect 50,000 meritorious final-year undergraduate girls with the Rani Lakshmibai Scooty Yojana. Kasturba Gandhi schools are being expanded towards Class 12, while half the seats in Atal Residential Schools have been reserved for girls. Opportunities for girls in Sainik Schools have also increased, alongside schemes providing tablets and smartphones to youth.
On economic empowerment, the Chief Minister said the government was promoting skill development, youth entrepreneurship and digital enterprise. Under Project Ganga, digital entrepreneurs will be developed across nearly 8,000 nyaya panchayats, including around 4,000 women entrepreneurs who will provide digital services in rural areas and create employment opportunities.
He said initiatives such as Lakhpati Didi, Drone Didi and BC Sakhi were helping women become economically independent through self-help groups. More than four lakh women are benefiting from milk producer initiatives including Balini, Samarthya, Kashi, Baba Gorakhnath and Srijani. Uttar Pradesh, he added, has more than 96 lakh MSME units with significant participation by women.
According to Yogi, women’s workforce participation in the state has risen from around 12 per cent to more than 36 per cent. Uttar Pradesh now has over 24,000 startups, with nearly half reportedly being led by women. He said women were increasingly becoming job creators rather than merely job seekers and were proving their capabilities in space technology, artificial intelligence, drones, robotics, sports and the armed forces.
Referring to Varanasi’s transformation, Yogi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given Kashi a global identity. Around ₹1 lakh crore worth of projects are operational or nearing completion in the city, he said. Schemes including PM Awas Yojana, Ayushman Bharat and Gharauni have strengthened women’s rights and dignity, with women receiving ownership rights in property documents.
He also highlighted pensions for more than 1.10 crore elderly persons, destitute women and persons with disabilities, besides free bus travel provided to women during Raksha Bandhan on August 27-29. Women above 60 years have also been provided free travel under the Lokmata Ahilyabai Matrushakti Yatra Yojana.
The programme was organised by MLA Dr Awadhesh Singh. Labour and Employment Minister Anil Rajbhar, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Stamp and Registration Ravindra Jaiswal, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for AYUSH Dr Dayashankar Mishra ‘Dayalu’, Minister of State for MSME Hansraj Vishwakarma, District Panchayat Chairperson Poonam Maurya, Mayor Ashok Tiwari, MLC Rai Dharmendra Singh, former minister and MLA Dr Neelkanth Tiwari, MLAs Saurabh Srivastava, Tribhuvan Ram and Dr Sunil Patel, Divisional Commissioner S. Rajalingam, District Magistrate Satyendra Kumar and Chief Development Officer Prakhar Kumar were among those present.
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