Shillong , July 26 : Meghalaya Chief Minister  on Friday  attended the inaugural function of the 3 day North East Regional Conference on Women and Development (NER-CWD) organised by the Union Christian College Umiam in collaboration with the P.A. Sangma Foundation.

Speaking on the occasion the Sangma  stated the need for increased participation from women to ensure a more holistic approach to development and progress of the State.

“There is a large section of women that are yet to get the opportunity to contribute. If the participation of women is equal in the economic growth of our nation the entire dynamics of the country will change”, he added.

Expressing his concern over gender discrimination and crimes against women the Chief Minister emphasised on the need to educate and sensitise all sections of the society to counter these issues.

“We make the policies and we come up with different programs but until the mindset of individuals does not change we will not see a positive outcome”, he said.

Terming the participation of women in politics as minimal the Chief Minister called for active involvement of women in governance.

“The policies that we make will never be complete and more importantly the implementation of these policies at the grassroots level will never be complete without the participation and input from each and every section of the society”, the Chief Minister added.

Hoping for a positive outcome from the conference the Chief Minister exhorted everyone to work together for the overall development and progress of the State.

The Chief Minister later inaugurated the new Library Building of the UCC which was constructed with funding from RUSA.