For centuries, Sanatan society has believed that divinity resides wherever women are respected. This sentiment, deeply rooted in our cultural consciousness, has remained alive through our festivals and traditions. Among these, one of the most sacred and emotionally significant rituals is Bhai Dooj. It is not merely a traditional festival marked by roli, akshat and auspicious wishes, but an emotional commitment to the protection, respect and progress of women. On this day, a brother lovingly places his hand on his sister’s head and pledges not only to protect her physically but also to provide her with an open sky in which to pursue her dreams. In Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has established this ‘brotherly duty’ as the highest principle of governance and as a commitment befitting a Rajyogi. By assuming the role of a guardian and elder brother for crores of daughters and sisters across the state, he has ensured that the daughters of Uttar Pradesh create opportunities for themselves and lead the economy of the new Uttar Pradesh.
A brother’s foremost duty towards his sister is to ensure her safety. The Yogi government has understood this essence in depth. Under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, women’s safety has not been treated merely as a law-and-order matter confined to police stations and police outposts; rather, it has been established as a fundamental prerequisite for social and economic development. A comprehensive campaign such as ‘Mission Shakti’, the establishment of women’s help desks at every police station, Women Beat Police Officers, Anti-Romeo Squads, Pink Booths and facilities such as the Women Power Line 1090 have transformed institutional efforts towards women’s safety into an impregnable shield. Under the Safe City Project, an extensive network of technology and surveillance facilities has been established in major cities. This has created a psychological environment in which fear has been instilled among criminals and confidence strengthened among women. Today, when a daughter goes to school without fear or a working woman returns home peacefully after completing her night shift, she is not merely carrying out her daily responsibilities; she is also bearing testimony to a safe, empowered and changing Uttar Pradesh. This is the triumph of social trust, which had been deeply undermined by decades of neglect.
Along with this impregnable shield of security, ensuring the dignity of daughters from birth through every stage of their lives is the second most important dimension of the government’s ‘brotherly duty’. The actual journey towards empowering a girl begins with the very first cry at her birth. The Mukhyamantri Kanya Sumangala Yojana has provided an institutional and economic foundation to this approach. This initiative, under which financial assistance is provided at various stages, from a girl’s birth and vaccination to school admission and higher education, is encouraging families to adopt a positive outlook towards their daughters’ education and future. Alongside this, the habit of savings being encouraged through the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is providing daughters with financial security for the future, ensuring that they never feel helpless at any stage of life. Expanding access to education for girls from remote and disadvantaged communities through Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas, and empowering meritorious girl students with greater mobility through initiatives such as the Rani Lakshmibai Scooty Yojana, are also part of this far-reaching strategy.
True empowerment becomes a reality when it is built on a strong foundation of economic self-reliance. Today, the new energy of women’s empowerment can be clearly felt across Uttar Pradesh, from its remotest villages to the gleaming buildings of its metropolitan cities. The increase in the female workforce participation rate from 12 per cent to more than 36 per cent marks the beginning of a silent yet widespread revolution unfolding in every household and courtyard across the state. Connecting lakhs of women with self-help groups under the National Rural Livelihoods Mission has been a significant step. These women are now efficiently managing enterprises in food processing, dairy, handicrafts, tailoring and agriculture-based activities. The ‘BC Sakhi’ (Banking Correspondent Sakhi) scheme has opened a gateway to economic self-reliance for rural women that was once considered unimaginable. These women, who deliver banking services from village to village and door to door, have today become the backbone of the rural economy.
This wave of economic self-reliance is not confined to the rural economy alone. Traditional crafts that form an integral part of Uttar Pradesh’s distinctive cultural identity have secured a place on the global stage through the ODOP (One District One Product) scheme. Whether it is chikankari, carpets from Bhadohi, Gorakhpur’s terracotta or Moradabad’s brass industry, women artisans associated with all these sectors have been connected with markets, modern training and marketing facilities, providing them with opportunities to become entrepreneurs. It is a matter of immense pride for the state that women are leading more than 50 per cent of startups here. Daughters who, until recently, stood in queues aspiring for government or private jobs are now taking risks, innovating, adopting new technologies and establishing a strong position for themselves amid competition. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, in the role of a brother, has created opportunities for them.
Another duty of a brother is to ensure that sisters assume leadership roles in administrative and public life. The recruitment of a record number of women personnel into the Uttar Pradesh Police Force and their active deployment have strengthened women’s confidence. They are now taking charge of the frontline of forces entrusted with the responsibility of protection. Elected women representatives in three-tier Panchayati Raj elections and urban local bodies are now independently leading from the front and are no longer compelled to function under the shadow of ‘Pradhan Pati’. They are independently drawing up development plans for their villages.
On the auspicious occasion of Bhai Dooj, when we take a comprehensive view of the state’s policies and their outcomes, it becomes evident that an epoch-making social transformation has taken shape in Uttar Pradesh. By fulfilling his ‘brotherly duty’, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has given the women of the state the enduring gifts of security, dignity and self-reliance, which have become the strongest defining features of a new, empowered and self-reliant Uttar Pradesh. Today, women, who constitute half the population, are truly equal partners in the journey of development, making the state’s progress inclusive and meaningful.
(The author, Sudha Modi, is a Social Worker and Founder at Nai Disha Foundation. The views are personal)