New Delhi, Jun 29 (PTI) Rashtra Sevika Samiti general secretary Sita Gayatri Annadanam on Thursday said mothers should instil values and a sense of respect for women in their sons to ensure the safety of women in society.

Addressing an event here, Annadanam stressed the need to help women realise their "inherent strength", saying Indian thoughts have the answer to all the problems that women are facing in the world.

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"Women's safety lies in the hands of mothers. Women's safety is not in the clothes they wear but in the eyes of men. Mothers should teach their children the right way of living. It is the responsibility of every mother to instil values and a sense of respect for women in their children that will ensure the safety of women," she said.

Women should also make efforts to ensure that their children grow as nationalists and patriots, and follow Indian thoughts on women to realise their strength and potential, she added.

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Annadanam was addressing an event organised to mark the birth anniversary of Lakshmibai Kelkar, who founded the Rashtra Sevika Samiti in 1936. The samiti is a women's organisation which parallels men's Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Addressing the event, RSS joint general secretary Krishna Gopal said women always had a special place in India and they were never discriminated against in ancient days, but over the past 1,000 years, some changes took place.

"There was no purdah system for Hindu women in (ancient) India. There is no mention of such a system in Veda or other scriptures. There was also no tradition of child marriage in the past. Women used to get an education. As many as 26 hymns in Veda were written by women, Surya Savitri had written Vivah Sukta,” he said.

The RSS leader, however, said that things are changing now and coming "back on track", and stressed the need to keep hold of Indian thoughts and philosophy for better progress.

“We have to keep hold of our fundamental thoughts and philosophy. We have to keep in mind who we were and what our thoughts were,” he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)