Neo-liberal policies had weakened the position of women in the country, said CPI(M) leader Subhashini Ali.

She was speaking on the topic ‘Aspects of Gender status’ at the two-day ‘EMS Smrithi,’ organised in the Kerala Sahitya Akademi auditorium on Sunday.

“Corporate forces promoted patriarchy as they needed cheap women labour. The neo-liberal regime wanted under-paid women workers such as ASHA and ICDS workers to conduct their projects. For that, they need to keep the women as second class citizens,” she said.

The declining sex ratio had increased violence against women, Ms. Ali said. Left parties should take up the issue of women oppression. Women should be empowered to weaken the neo-liberal regime, she added.