Kiran Bedi pays rich tributes to Nepal’s women

KATHMANDU - As Nepal celebrated 100th International Women’s Day Monday by declaring a public holiday, rich tributes were paid to Nepali women, who comprise over 51 percent of the population, by first woman Indian Police Service officer Kiran Bedi.

Bedi, winner of the Magsaysay Award for her work to reform India’s prisons, arrived in the country on a three-day visit at the invitation of the Federation of Women Entrepreneurs’ Associations of Nepal (FWEANS) and to assist their fund-raising programme.

Asked about the difference between Nepali and Indian women, the 61-year-old said there were none.

“Both are beautiful, love their country and believe in reforming society,” Bedi said. “Both are innovative, want reformation, peace and a better quality of life.”

Bedi, the author of two best-selling motivational books and accolade-winning judge of a television show, said women around the world were the same. “Biologically, women are unselfish,” she said. “They are the ones who give birth to others. A mother is never selfish, she lives for her children, family and society.”

One of the best-loved Indian public figures, Bedi acknowledged that India was still dominated by men who took all the important decisions.

“Sometimes they are right, sometimes wrong,” she said.

Referring to her over three decades in police service, she said she faced challenges not because she was a woman but because she regarded her work from a woman’s perspective.

“Women are by nature reformers,” she said. “I believe in welfare policing, nor punitive policing. I believe in Gandhian policing and upholding the truth. It posed a challenge to some people who thought that if the entire police force in Delhi became 100 percent honest and upright, it would raise questions as to why it can’t happen in other states.”

During her tenure and after she retired, Bedi said she had offers to join political parties.

“But while I was in service, my job was my priority,” she said. “Today, people are my priority. I don’t think politically, I am people-oriented.”

Bedi said though she faced challenges during a prominent career, she also coped with them.

“I did not stop but went forward because it is not in my nature to stop,” she said.

She will be delivering a talk Tuesday as part of the Women’s Day celebrations by FWEAN, who are also hosting a trade fair and a workshop on agroproducts.

Bedi is accompanied by Jaya Jaitley, leader of India’s Samata Party, and founder president of the prominent Indian handicrafts association, Dastkari Haat Samiti that established New Delhi’s popular handicrafts market Dilli Haat.

FWEAN is hoping to learn marketing strategies from Jaitley. The Dilli Haat is generating Rs.4 crore a month and providing a platform to 200 villages artisans for a fortnight to sell their products.