Panaji, May 30 (IANS):Goa should not lag behind in providing protection to women and children, Governor Mridula Sinha said in her address on Monday, on the eve of Goa Statehood Day.

"The government should not lag behind in its responsibility of providing protection to women and children, who have always been the pride of the country. We should focus our attention on providing them a respectful life. They need our sympathies, understanding, love, and a safe and respectful environment," Sinha said.

Goa was liberated from Portuguese rule in 1961, and remained a Union Territory for more than two decades along with Daman and Diu, which too were liberated from Portugal by the Indian armed forces.

Goa became a full-fledged Indian state, albeit the country's smallest, on May 30, 1987.

Sinha said the coastal state had largely benefited from the Uniform Civil Code, which has been in force here since the colonial era, and it was representative of social and national unity.