New Delhi [India], September 8 : Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has said that women representatives are not merely witnesses to change, but architects of change.
He said active and effective participation of women representatives plays an important role in making democracy more sensitive, inclusive and accountable.
The Chief Minister was addressing the concluding ceremony of the two-day ‘She Is a Change Maker’ programme organised by the National Commission for Women at Surajkund in Faridabad on Tuesday.
Women MLAs and Legislative Council members from 20 states and two Union Territories participated in the workshop, a release said. Various sessions were organised on a range of subjects, including deliberations, innovation, legislative procedures, leadership, communication, policy-making and the effective role of elected representatives.
Saini specially thanked the National Commission for Women Chairperson Vijaya K. Rahatkar and the entire team of the Commission for successfully organising the workshop and congratulated them. He said that the Commission’s initiative to strengthen the legislative knowledge, leadership capabilities, communication skills and effective participation of women representatives in policy-making was commendable. 
He said that the theme of the workshop conveyed a powerful message in itself. It was not merely a title, but an idea and a resolve that women are not witnesses to change, but its architects. He said that women representatives do not merely represent their constituencies; they represent a force that guides society, a voice that makes democracy more sensitive, and leadership capabilities that shape the future of the country.
The Chief Minister welcomed and felicitated women legislators who had arrived from different states of the country on the historic and sacred land of Haryana. He said that this is the land from where Lord Krishna, on the sacred soil of Kurukshetra, gave humanity the message of karma, knowledge and duty.
The gathering of women representatives from different states of the country on the historic land of Haryana is a vibrant confluence of India’s democratic diversity, women’s power and the collective resolve towards nation-building.
He said that over the past two days, women representatives from different states had shared their experiences, ideas and working methods. Successful innovations being implemented in different states could serve as inspiration for other states. Good practices are not confined by boundaries; learning from one another helps strengthen good governance.
Saini said that the Legislative Assembly is not merely a place for making laws, but an important platform for transforming the voice of the people into policy. The effectiveness of an MLA is not measured only by how much they speak in the House, but by how deeply they understand issues, how thoroughly they study the facts and how practical the solutions they propose to public problems are.
He said that raising constituency issues in the House with facts, participating seriously in discussions on Bills and ensuring accountability from the government are the fundamental responsibilities of an alert and responsible elected representative. The role of a woman MLA is even broader, because when a woman MLA speaks in the House, her voice carries not only the expectations of a constituency, but also the concerns of a mother, the dreams of a daughter, and the voices of women’s struggles and aspirations.
The Chief Minister said that when women’s voices are included in the decision-making process, sensitivity in policies, inclusiveness in decisions and a sense of justice in governance are strengthened. Women’s participation does not merely change the picture of democracy; it also strengthens the character of democracy.
He said that when a woman sarpanch of a village reaches the decision-making table, it is not just one woman who reaches that table; along with her, the voices of thousands of women from that village also reach there. With this very vision, women’s participation in Panchayati Raj Institutions in Haryana has been strengthened by providing them 50 per cent representation.
He said that the development picture cannot be complete without the effective participation of half the population. Today, daughters and daughters-in-law in villages are playing an important role in determining the direction of development of the entire village along with their families. Wherever there is women’s leadership, transparency, sensitivity and accountability are promoted.