CHANDIGARH: On the occasion of International Women's Day, keeping in view the interrelationship of elections and women, the Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab conducted various contests in all the 22 districts of the state. An essay writing competition was held for SVEEP Nodal Officers on the topic - “How does women's participation strengthen democracy? What steps need to be taken to ensure the participation of young women?"
Quiz competitions were conducted for the Campus Ambassadors and in-charges of and Electoral Literacy Clubs (ELCs). The theme of the quiz competition was -"The Role of Women in Elections and Politics." 235 Campus Ambassadors and 156 Electoral Literacy Club in-charges took part in the quiz competitions respectively.
Apart from this, a cash award of Rs. 500 to the female BLO downloading highest number of e-epic from each district of Punjab was announced. They will be felicitated with a cash prize of Rs. 500 each and a certificate. For all the women voters of Punjab, a competition on “Boliyan” on the theme "Women Vote and Democracy" was organized in which the first place winners at the district level would be honored.
A large number of people participated in all these competitions and a Facebook Live event at the state level was organized. In this event, Dr. S. Karuna Raju, IAS, Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab congratulated the women of Punjab on International Women's Day. He urged them to participate actively in the democratic process, understanding the importance of their role in strengthening the democracy. Mrs. Madhvi Kataria, IAS, Additional Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab on the occasion asked the women to recognize their true power and extol their unique identity.