The President of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil in her message on the occasion of International Women's Day, which is being observed tomorrow has said: -

"Every year, International Women's Day is being celebrated on 8th March, to dedicate ourselves to strive for a world based on gender equality and justice. It is a day to celebrate the spirit of ordinary women, who have played extraordinary roles in shaping their families, communities, society and countries. At the same time, it is a day to reflect on the progress made in achieving the goal of all-round development of women, and of implementing a pro-active agenda of change.

Women can play an important role in focusing on issues related to gender inequality, ways to eliminate poverty and on social practices that are disadvantageous to the development and empowerment of women and the girl child. Women's empowerment is an important field where more work, needs to be done

On the occasion of International Women's Day, I extend my greetings and felicitations to all my sisters in their continuing role and their relentless effort in shaping the destiny of our country."

This release issued at 1220 hrs.