Chief Minister MK Stalin wishing women on International Women's day, said that women who know no fear are the eyes of Tamil Nadu. In an official statement, the DMK chief in an official release said: "When our Dravidian model government came to power, my first signature as the Chief Minister was for the free bus scheme for economic independence of women." We are working in such a way that Thanthai Periyar, Annadurai and Kalaignar would be proud. We are going to continue to be pioneers, he added. "I would also like to inform you that our government intends to implement many programs for the advancement of women, such as giving additional 50 days of work to women who are heads of households, providing training for important competitive examinations to women under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme." "In the first financial statement, we increased the paid maternity leave for women from 9 months to 12 months, which is unprecedented even in the advanced countries of the world. We also increased the quota for women in government jobs to 40 per cent and made women work equal to men and surpass men in all offices," it said.