National Commission for Women - An appraisal

 

                                                                                     ---Leena Mehendale

 

            A nation or a society goes ahead only through the contribution of all its members.  Push the women into the backyards, and the society itself will be dragged behind.  During the struggle for independence, Mahatma Gandhi, realising this, took special efforts to include women in political as well as economic and social struggles.  Even before him, stalwarts like Raja Ram  Mohan Roy, Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Phule had laid great emphasis on women’s participation in their revival programs.

 

            After independence, however, the progress of women and of the society seems to have retarded.  Even after forty years, examples were galore where on one hand the sensitivity over women’s issues was lacking and on the other hand atrocities against women were rising.

 

            The committee on Status of  Women in India (CSWI) recommended as early as in 1975, the  setting up of a National Commission for Women .  Many women activists and organisations also pressed for the demand and finally the Parliament passed the Act in 1990 for setting up of a Women’s Commission.  Actual formation and functioning of National Commission for Women started in 1992.

 

            Women related issues have many dimensions but they can be summarised as violence, denial and deprivation.  Violence can be in parental or matrimonial house, or at work place or elsewhere in the society.  Denial comes as denial of the right to be born, or denial of nutrition, education, health, home, property etc.  Deprivation results from debarring them from several opportunities of empowerment - political economir or career-wise.  also importnt are the questions of women in jail (pre-trial or post conviction), women in mental asylums, single women and so on.

 

            These are the problems.  But what about the systems designed to solve these problems?  How effective are they?  A review shows that right from the judicial system to police  investigation to medico-legal recordings to the system of evidence, which has been badly twisted in the hands  of advocates. everywhere we find systemic insensitivity.  Ultimately the buck will stop at the door  steps of the society which itself has become too insensitive.  But the buck has to be brought there through studies, debates, seminars, action plans etc.

 

            All this provides the working ideology for National Commission for Women.  The NCW Act, 1990 has some very strong and all encompassing provisions.  The most important and operative section lists some Section 10 of the Act narrates fourteen important areas in which the Commission has to function they include investigation of all matters relating to safeguards, suggest amendments to various laws, look into complaints relating to deprivation of women’s rights, take up matters of non-implementation of Acts meant for achieving equality and development of women and non-compliance of policy decisions etc.  The commission can call for special studies and investigations and fund litigations involving women’s issue of larger dimensions.  Commission can also inspect jails and investigate the conditions of women therein.

           

            On the empowerment side Section 10 enjoins NCW to suggest ways for ensuring due representation of women in all spheres, to participate and advice on the planning process of socio-economic development of women and to evaluate such development.

           

            NCW can make reports on all the above matters to government and can also require that such a report be placed before the Parliament or the State Assembly as the case may be.  This is one very powerful methodology in the hands of NCW.

 

            Further, as a tool for NCW’s investigations powers of civil court for summoning a person, summoning the record or taking statements on oath have also been given to the NCW.

 

            The Commission works mainly through its members and team of officers.  However, Commission can set up expert committees specific issues and can also  .  Similarly experts can be coopted even as a part of investigating team.  Thus NCW maintaining a strong network with NGOs working all over the country and can tap the best available brains and activists for the purpose of situation analysis and recommendations.

 

            The best tool to assess the work of the Commission is its Annual Reports.  The annual reports from 1992-93 onwards tell us about the work done so far, the work methodology and the future directions.  These reports have a set pattern.  Every report has chapters on “Status of Violence against Women” and “Custodial Justice” to deal with the menace of violence which is naturally the first concern of NCW.  There is a complaints and counselling cell in the organisation which looks into complaints received and gives guidance to the visitors who come to seek help, legal advice or otherwise.  Some of these complaints are of a serious nature where investigation by the Commission is warranted and undertaken.  Details of these investigations can be seen in the Annual Reports.  The complaint cell is an interface between the suffering women and the NCW.  First objective of the complaint is know doubt to redress the complaint of the individual sufferer bu the Commission cannot just stopped there.  These cases give very important insight to the Commission about various social administrative and legal maladies.  NCW can then file that upon its mandate and recommend to various government agencies and the systemic changes within the sectors are needed in order to ensure that women did not keep suffering in future.  It allows the Commission to larger issues involving policy decision and methods of implementation and monitoring within other government sectors.  NCW needs strong ability to analyse data available in the complaint cell so as to be able to suggest the systemic changes to other government offices.  To the extent the NCW can do these, the complaint cell will provide an interface between the suffering women individuals and the concerned administrative departments.

 

          Annual Report also has chapters on “Review of Laws” done by Commission and recommendations given to government on various new bill or amendments to existing laws.  Participation of eminent lawyers, judges, academicians and activists is enlisted before these recommendations are made.

 

            Commission runs a programme of funding for legal literacy camps and Parivarik Mahila Lok Adalat (PMLA).  The publication wing of NCW has, in past, brought out substantive publications on these issues.

 

            The annual report also examines what is happening on the side of Empowerment by examining the scenario on political and economic front and in media.  Political participation of women right from the village panchayat upto Parliament, avenues for economic independence to women at all levels and the portrayal of women in media are the matters of continuous advocary in NCW.  The reports also contains a chapter on our planning process and how specific planning can be helpful in removing gender disparities in various geographical and social arenas.

 

            Special studies are undertaken and sponsored by Commission.  Another tool is organisation of national workshop and seminars.  The subjects range from child rape to tribal women to food security to agricultural labour, to health related matters to credit policy for women and so on.  More than three hundred recommendations have been made so far and nearly 100 publications have been brought out.

 

            Like other government organisations the NCW also stops short at the stage of “Output guarantee” which must follow after situatiion analysis and recommendations.  I am reminded of a fine poster by a dear friend which asks “50 years of Independence.  Is that All?" The same can be aked of ncw.

 

            Our situation analysis is always excellent , our recommendations always lying for the best, but what about designing step by step implementation strategy and its actual execution.  What about designing continuity and sustainability in the system.

 

            The real index of empowerment of women will be situation when the commission does not have to exist anymore for them.  But in our vision of the NCW, do we see that day possible sometime in future, are our eyes set on that day or is it a vision of perpetual existence of the Commission?

 

            The NCW has been designed also as a watchdog on how the other government sectors perform.  In coming years NCW will have to focus on various government efforts to ensure that they have a proper strategy, proper execution plan and proper monitoring system rather than just having excellent recommendations.