More needs to be done to ensure gender equality: Thomas Isaac

Kochi: Noting that more needs to be done for women with regard to their social status, Kerala Finance Minister T M Thomas Issac Saturday pitched for spending minimum 10 per cent of total budget in programmes managed and implemented by them.

Isaac, while addressing the concluding day of BRICS Conference on Participatory Local Budgeting here, said women in the state were "superior" to rest of India in terms of health and education.

"Still nevertheless, when it comes to social status of women, Kerala is backward as rest of the country. And this is a paradox...a riddle we have to resolve," he said, in the presence of Union Minister for Rural Development Narendra Singh Tomar.

"We need to ensure gender equality and women safety. Minimum 10 per cent of total budget should be managed and implemented by women for their programmes," he said.

Issac said though being the Finance Minister, his heart was with the activities at grass-root level.

He also spoke about the care to be taken to put in place measures to protect the environment to avoid future catastrophe.