International Women’s Day — House of Lords, 2020-03-10
Topic: Civil Rights
Raminder Ranger (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I speak for the first time in this House with some nervousness but immense pride. I am humbled by the support I have received from noble Lords on all sides of the House. I thank them for their kindness I am also indebted to the excellent staff of the House, who are always helpful and kind to me. I am most grateful to my two inspirational sponsors, my noble friends Lord Leigh of Hurley and Lady Vere of Norbiton, for introducing me to the House. I will always endeavour to honour the faith they have placed in me. I acknowledge the guidance and support of my noble friends Lord Howe, Lord Courtown and Lord Smith of Hindhead at every step and, of course, I thank the former Prime Minister the right honourable Theresa May MP, whom I admire and who has bestowed on me this great honour along with the opportunity to serve the people of this great nation Last Sunday, on the occasion of International Women’s Day, we had a global celebration of women’s achievements and today, continuing this most important theme, it is my pleasure to make my maiden speech in this vital debate. I firmly believe that empowerment and equality for women everywhere is a necessity and not a choice. I know this because I owe everything to a remarkable woman: my mother For me to be standing among noble Lords is not a dream come true, as I could never have dreamed of being among such illustrious people, knowing where my life’s journey began. I owe my success to the British sense of tolerance and fair play. As a result, an ordinary immigrant like me could realise his ambitions and become an asset for his family and adopted country. It is a privilege for me to be British and among those who from these islands have touched the lives of almost everyone in the world. I was born during the partition of India. We found ourselves on the wrong side of the new border. My father was a visionary and could foretell the consequences of religious disharmony. He was against the partition of India based on religion, as he was a firm believer in a united India free of religious rivalry, with all her people living together in harmony. He said that India’s diversity was like the colours of a rainbow; her charm would diminish if one were removed Sadly, our father was assassinated at the young age of 42 when trying to save students of a local school who had taken part in a procession opposing the division of India but got caught in communal riots. Our father managed to save the students but lost his life for Hindu-Muslim unity in India. I am a posthumous child; I was born 20 days after the death of our illustrious father My life began in a refugee camp in India, without a father but with a remarkable mother. Our mother was widowed at the young age of just 35, with seven children. I was born 20 days later, taking our number to eight, with the oldest being 14. She had lost her country, ancestral home and husband, and whatever could go wrong for her, did. She was told by her family to put us all in an orphanage, as it would be challenging to manage eight of us on her own in a new country without a husband or family wealth. She refused to give up her children and accepted what fate had thrown at her. Luckily, she was educated at a time when many did not teach their girls, and was thus able to gain employment at a local primary school Our future would have been very different if our mother had not been educated. She brought us up through immense difficulties. Her words to us were, "You may starve, but you will study". The result: five of her sons became commissioned officers in the Indian Army, and she received the title of the "Proudest Indian Mother" for having her sons serve in the defence of India I am most proud to have established businesses which have won six Queen’s Awards for Enterprise in International Trade, five of them consecutively: an unprecedented achievement. My companies sustain thousands of British jobs through their export activities and have connected Britain through trade with over 100 countries It is unfortunate that even today, we live in a world where there is not full gender equality. In many parts of the world, women are still prevented from studying or going to work. I say, "Those who do not treat women as equals become unequal themselves in the world". Even though there are laws preventing gender inequality, there is still a gender pay gap that persists in the UK and across the globe. Why is it that women in many countries are worse off than men in terms of jobs and education? Women probably work harder and longer hours than men. More importantly, as my life shows, if a husband dies prematurely as my father did, he may leave behind a woman who is unable to deal with our uncaring world, and a mother who is unable to provide for her children. My mother’s resilience and ability shaped the lives of eight children, 19 grand- children and 27 great-grandchildren Educating girls is not just good for the girl; it also marks the end of poverty for her family, her children, her community and eventually her country. We must not underestimate the power of educated girls, as what they experience themselves they can impart to their children. As a Member of this noble House, I pledge my time and resources to support eradicating the mistreatment and gender inequality suffered by women across the globe. I pay tribute to vital initiatives such as International Women’s Day, which helps to highlight the achievements of women across the world as well as the challenges they face Finally, I would like to thank the three wonderful women who shaped my destiny: first, my mother, who never gave up and never gave in, no matter what fate threw at her. She could easily have abandoned us and remarried, as she was young, intelligent and beautiful, but she dedicated her life to her children and made each of us an asset to society. She also instilled in us the right values, which became the bedrock of our success. Secondly, I thank my beautiful, intelligent, educated and hard-working wife, who has always stood by me. She worked for the MoD and HMRC, and with her financial help we could offer the best education to our three beautiful daughters. She has been the bedrock of my success. Our eldest daughter is Councillor Reena Ranger OBE, who also runs an organisation dedicated to empowering women. Our second daughter is an accomplished NHS doctor who has completed her research in haematology. Our youngest daughter is a scholarship holder from LSE who worked for Google and PwC before joining one of our companies, and who has become an integral part of its success. Thirdly, I thank the former Prime Minister, the right honourable Theresa May, who ennobled me in her resignation honours list. Without the support of these wonderful women, I would not be standing here today as a proud man Let my life’s story always remind you of the strength of women. In the words of Guru Nanak, founder of the Sikh faith: "From woman, man is born; within woman, man is conceived; to woman he is engaged and married … When his woman dies, he seeks another woman; to woman he is bound. So why consider her inferior? From her, Kings and Prophets are born … without woman, there would be no one at all." I thank noble Lords for being part of my maiden speech.