In a bid to promote gender equality, Kerala is the first state in India to get a ‘Gender Park’. The Kerala government’s intention behind this project is to accelerate women entrepreneurship and secure gender parity while providing women with a safe place away from home to start new businesses, set up or expand, and get their products marketed globally.
Picture courtesy: genderpark.gov.in
According to the Times Of India, The inauguration of the Gender Park coincided with the second edition of the International Conference on Gender Equality (ICGE-II). On the same day, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also laid the foundation of the International Women's Trade and Research Centre (IWTRC) in consonance with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In a statement to the press, K.K. Shylaja, Minister for Health, Social Justice and Woman and Child Development, Government of Kerala said, “The function of the Trade Centre is to equip women and transgender individuals to hone their entrepreneurial skills as well as to help them wade their way to success in the modern world.”
Picture courtesy: genderpark.gov.in
The Gender Park hosts a library, museum, an amphitheatre and a convention centre. The Gender Museum highlights various social struggles and eras that were responsible to empower women in society, their achievements and much more. The Gender Library will help in creating public awareness on the significance of gender equality in the development of the state and country. The amphitheatre will be focusing on promoting art and the convention centre has the capacity to accommodate 500 people.