First Ever State Visit of Commonwealth of Nations Secretary General Patricia Scotland

Women empowerment amongst Commonwealth top priorities

New Delhi, December 15, 2017: Friends of Commonwealth led by Mr.Amreesh Chandra, Group President India, GEMS Education and NIINE , an NGO working towards menstrual hygiene for girls across India together welcomed Ms.Patricia Janet Scotland, Secretary General of the Commonwealth Nations, Her Excellency Right Honourable Baroness Scotland of Asthal on her maiden visit to India yesterday in the capital.

The meet was not only focussed on welcoming the Secretary General but was also about celebrating Women Empowerment, Gender Equality, Girl Child Development and Menstrual Hygiene and health of the Girl Child. The session kick started with a welcome note by Mr. Amreesh Chandra followed by Ms. Meenakshi Lekhi, Lok sabha MP, BJP who spoke on female empowerment, Ms. Shabana Azmi, Actor who spoke on developing rural women empowerment through creativity Mijwa.

Ms. Patricia Scotland, Secretary General, Commonwealth of Nations on her first visit to India, “The time has arrived to end violence against women, both at home and outside. We need to educate our girls, invest in their health and bring about gender equality at a much rapid pace than ever before. The fast pace of technology adoption and the surge in opportunities in business, politics, sociology and several other fields, demands that women keep the pace with the transforming world. Commonwealth leaders have taken this up as one of their priorities."

Commented on the occasion, Mr. Amreesh Chandra, Friends of Commonwealth & Group President India, GEMS Education, “We are delighted that the Secretary General is a huge advocate of peace - education and resilience - not only in her current role but also her previous roles in government and the charity sector. The empowerment of women and girls role is key to the prosperity of the country and an important reflection of our values and beliefs. Their empowerment and building their resilience through education will lead to peace in the house which will lead to peace in society and this is exactly the focus I am driving at GEMS Education in the capacity of their Group President. Across our K-12 schools in India, we are already providing subsidized education to the Girl Child and looking at many more innovative ways of empowering the Girl Child.”

The session had eminent personalities including Aditya Burman (Dabur Group), Meenakshi Lekhi, BJP, Radha Jaitly & Rohan Jaitly, Socialites, Shabana Azmi, Actor, Shivani Wazir Pasrich, Chairman:The Royal Commonwealth Society India, Mrs. and Mr. J.B. Roy (Sahara Parivar), the ambassadors of Commonwealth Nations and the delegation of the Secretary General.