The Assam government has drawn flak on the social media for not giving space to the women entrepreneurs of Assam at the podium during the inaugural ceremony of the two-day Advantage Assam- Global Investors’ Summit in Guwahati on Saturday.
Referring to a picture published in a national newspaper on Sunday, Patricia Mukhim, senior journalist and columnist, posted on the social networking site, Facebook, on Sunday: “I counted 38 men sitting at the podium during the inaugural session of #AdvantageAssam yesterday.”
Raising a question whether women were ‘dragged in as an after-thought’ in Advantage Assam, Mukhim stated: “Does it not occur to the CM of Assam that something is amiss? Is #AdvantageAssam# going to be an all-male effort or will women be dragged in as an after-thought?”
She also asked the women activists why are they silent in this regard.
“Where are all the women activists/feminists in Assam?”, senior columnist Mukhim asked, adding, “Why are you silent about this gender-blind venture that is going to keep women out of critical decision-making in the area of investments-trade and commerce?”
Mentioning a number of women entrepreneurs from Assam – Asomee Duttabaruah, Monisha Behal, Roshmi Goswami Vasavvi Acharjya, Nivedita Barthakur and Bhaswati Khaund Goswami – whom she termed as “all those empowered women entrepreneurs of Assam who recently had their pow-wow in the city”, Mukhim stated, “I feel sorry to see this sad situation”.
The Advantage Assam – Global Investors’ Summit concluded on Sunday with signing of more than 200 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and an investment of staggering rupees more than one lakh crore.
The valedictory function of the Summit was held at Sarusajai in Guwahati.