Just a heartbeat before the world unfurls its banners for International Women’s Day, the women of Jammu and Kashmir got a front-row seat to something extraordinary. In his 2025-26 budget speech yesterday, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah didn’t just toss out promises like confetti—he crafted a beacon of hope, a meticulously stitched plan that speaks directly to the resilience and aspirations of J&K’s women. As global voices gear up to salute women’s strides tomorrow, the daughters, mothers, and sisters of this rugged land are already clutching a gift that could rewrite their tomorrow.
This budget isn’t a dry ledger—it’s a living testament to empowerment, painted in bold strokes of financial aid, economic muscle, and dignity. Take the Ladli Beti Scheme, a flagship that’s grown from a fledgling 16,095 beneficiaries in 2017 to a robust 1,61,552 today, with funding rocketing from ₹24 crore to ₹847 crore. In remote Gurez, where girls once traded books for chores, this means classrooms over cattle sheds. In Bandipora, it’s a lifeline for families who’d otherwise skimp on daughters’ health to feed sons. Abdullah’s expansion isn’t just numbers—it’s a megaphone blaring that every girl in J&K is a priority, a non-negotiable investment in a fairer future.
Economic empowerment struts onto the stage with swagger. The Lakhpati Didi Scheme vows to mint 40,000 women micro-entrepreneurs, each banking ₹1 lakh a year. Picture a widow in Kupwara threading her grief into a shawl empire, her looms humming with profit. Or a young mother in Rajouri, her hands stained with saffron, selling her harvest online to buyers in Delhi. Add the skilling of 1.5 lakh women farmers and 3,000 Self-Help Group members under the National Rural Livelihood Mission, and you’ve got a tidal wave of breadwinners. In Pulwama, where orchards are women’s unsung domain, this could mean pruning shears swapped for profit shares. Abdullah isn’t doling out crumbs—he’s handing women the reins to J&K’s economic chariot.
Healthcare, that silent yoke on women’s necks, gets a long-overdue reckoning. The SEHAT Initiative unfurls ₹5 lakh in free family health insurance and an AI-powered telemedicine app—imagine a grandmother in Baramulla, her joints creaking, consulting a doctor without trudging through snow. Or a pregnant woman in Kulgam, spared the perilous trek to a distant clinic. The ₹86 crore for a 250-bedded maternity and childcare hospital in Anantnag is more than bricks and mortar—it’s a lifeline for mothers who’ve buried too many dreams in unmarked graves. This isn’t a handout; it’s a hand up, a nod to women as the backbone of family survival.
Safety and mobility, those twin pillars of freedom, stand tall in this budget. From April 1, 2025, free rides on government buses and eBuses will ferry women to jobs, schools, and markets. In Srinagar, a college student can ditch the fare and the late-night jitters; in Udhampur, a daily wager can reach her site without pinching pennies. Five new Sakhi Niwas hostels in Srinagar, Anantnag, Baramulla, Kathua, and Rajouri, paired with 11 Shakti Sadans for women in distress—including trafficking survivors in Kishtwar—weave a safety net that’s as practical as it is profound. Abdullah’s vision doesn’t just shelter women—it sets them free to soar.
Education, the great emancipator, gets a starring role. Upgrading 547 Saksham Anganwadi Centers into Bal Vidyalayas means a mother in Poonch can toil in peace while her toddler learns letters, not loneliness. K-12 reforms, with vocational labs and smart classrooms, aim to glue girls to desks, not domesticity. In Shopian, where dropout rates have haunted generations, this could be the stitch that mends a torn fabric. It’s a budget that sees women not just as caregivers but as catalysts for progress.
Yet, every silver lining has its cloud. The ghost of AIIMS Kashmir’s glacial pace haunts these grand plans—can Abdullah outrun bureaucracy’s sticky web? The SEHAT App’s gleam could dim in rural pockets like Doda, where internet access sputters at 45%. And the funding for free transport and shelter upkeep? Still a foggy footnote. But let’s not dim the spotlight. This budget’s heart beats for J&K’s women, and its ambition is as fierce as a Himalayan gale.
A day before International Women’s Day, Omar Abdullah has gifted J&K’s women more than a speech—he’s handed them a compass for a brighter, bolder horizon. If these promises dodge the quicksand of delays and leap into action, they could redraw the map of a region where women have too often been footnotes. The road ahead demands relentless execution and eagle-eyed oversight, but for now, Abdullah deserves a thunderous cheer. Kashmir’s women have been given a beacon—here’s hoping it lights their way.
