International Day of the Girl Child has gotten a special meaning in Kolar district, which is witnessing a women’s empowerment, albeit in a different way.

With G. Sathyavathy’s appointment as the Deputy Commissioner of Kolar, the district has the rare distinction of women holding all the top executive posts. Ms. Sathyavathy, DC of Chikkamagaluru, succeeds K.V. Thrilokchandra, who was the Deputy Commissioner for last 35 months.

Many prominent elected bodies also have women as presidents and vice-presidents in the district.

K. Vidyakumari (Additional Deputy Commissioner), Rohini Katoch (SP), B.B. Kaveri (Zilla Panchayat CEO) are the other prominent women holding higher posts in the administrative structure.

For Ms. Vidyakumari, it’s not a question of gender but the work that has to be done. “An officer is an officer. There is no difference in executing the administrative duties and responsibilities by men or women”, she said.

However, she admitted that a prejudiced view of gender roles where women are seen as weak still exists.

Ms. Vidyakumari, who has been ADC in Kolar for one year, highlighted the smooth smooth running of zilla panchayat by its CEO Ms. Kaveri and police department headed by Ms. Katoch in the district.

“Girls need to be encouraged to take up higher education, which will result in women make foray in to administrative system,” Ms. Vidyakumari added.

Pallavi Honnapura, senior assistant director of Public Relations and Publicity Department, says it is a very good sign. “People expect more work from the bureaucracy and particularly they pose trust in women authorities as they can do work efficiently,” she said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Vishwa Kundapura / Kolar – October 16th, 2017