The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presented the Stree Shakti Puruskar, 2013 today (March 8, 2014) on the occasion of International Women’s Day at a function at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Speaking on the occasion, the President said that as housewives, mothers, teachers of India’s future generations, businesswomen at the grassroots and executives in the top echelons of the corporate world, women have, through their individual efforts, made contributions, big and small to build the India of today. As respected professionals in all walks of life, women have, in no less measure, made their mark in the frontiers of science, space exploration and research alike. He made a special mention of the women in agricultural sector. He stated that women in this sector are the mainstay of India’s food security – and also the scores of women workers who toil shoulder to shoulder with men in building, brick by brick, the mighty physical infrastructure of our country.

The President said that new legislations, no matter how well conceived, must be supported by efficient enforcement mechanisms. Legislation, alone, cannot emancipate our women. There is a need for a fundamental re-setting of our mental and moral make-up, our civic sense and our social conduct. We must do all that we can to revive our tradition of according due honour and respect to our mothers and sisters; by doing so we will honour ourselves.