National Commission for Women

IN NEWS:

• The National Commission for Women is facing criticism for failing to act on the assault on Manipuri women.

NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR WOMEN:

• The National Commission for Women (NCW) is the apex national level organisation of India with the mandate of protecting and promoting the interests of women.
• It was set up as statutory body in January 1992 under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990 to:
  • Review the Constitutional and legal safeguards for women
  • Recommend remedial legislative measures
  • Facilitate redressal of grievances; and
  • Advise the Government on all policy matters affecting women
• The Commission shall, while investigating into the matters have all the powers of a civil court trying a suit.

COMPOSITION:

• A Chairperson, to be nominated by the Central Government.
• Five Members to be nominated by the Central Government
  • from amongst persons who have had experience in law or legislation, trade unionism, management of an industry potential of women, women's voluntary organisations (including women activist), administration, economic development, health, education or social welfare; 
  • At least one Member each shall be from amongst persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes respectively;
• A Member-Secretary to be nominated by the Central Government who shall be:
  • an expert in the field of management, organisational structure or sociological movement, or
  • an officer who is a member of a civil service of the Union or of an all-India service or holds a civil post under the Union with appropriate experience.

MANDATE OF THE COMMISSION:

1. Investigate and examine all matters relating to the safeguards provided for women under the Constitution and other laws,
2. Present reports to the Central Government, annually and at such other times as the Commission may deem fit, upon the working of those safeguard
3. Make recommendations for the effective implementation of the safeguards
4. Review the exiting provisions of the Constitution and other laws affecting women and recommend amendments, from time to time.
5. Take up cases of violation of the provisions of the Constitution and of other laws relating to women with the appropriate authorities.
6. Look into complaints and take suo-moto notice of matters relating to deprivation of women's rights, non-implementation of laws, non-compliance of policy decisions etc.
7. Call for special studies or investigations into specific problems or situations arising out of discrimination and atrocities against women
8. Undertake promotional and educational research
9. Inspect or cause to inspected a jail, remand home, women's institution or other place of custody where women are kept as prisoners.
10. Fund litigation involving issues affecting a large body of women,
11. Participate and advice on the planning process of socio-economic development of women.
12. Evaluate the progress of the development of women under the Union and any State.

KEY EFFORTS BY THE NCW:

• Strengthened legislations such as the Domestic Violence Act 2005, Dowry Prohibition Act 1961 and Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013.
• Digital Shakti Campaign, a pan-India project on digitally empowering and skilling women and girls in the cyberspace
• Entrepreneurship Awareness Programmes (EAPs), for potential women entrepreneurs across the country
• 'Legal Awareness Programme' for the women at grass-root level in collaboration with National Legal Services Authority (NALSA)
• “Rashtra Mahila” newsletter NCW publishes a monthly newsletter in both Hindi and English.
• Workshops and Consultations: NCW organizes workshops, seminars, consultations and expert committees on matters such as economic empowerment, gender awareness, female foeticide, violence against women etc.
• During the lockdown, the Commission created a dedicated phone helpline to deal with a reported increase in domestic violence.

CRITICISM OF NCW:

• Political interference:
  • NCW does not have the power to choose its own members. Most governments appoint NCW chairpersons from their own parties. Hence, NCW often seems to be deriving its priorities from the political agenda of the day.
• No legislative powers:
  • NCW has no actual legislative powers. It can only suggest amendments and submit reports which are not binding on a state or Union Governments.
• Financial dependency:
  • Women's commission rely heavily on government funding, which undermines their independence and hinder their ability to function effectively.
• Silence on important issues:
  • The Commission is criticised for maintaining silence on many significant women’s issues, such as crimes and sexual violence inflicted on women by police and army personnel in highly militarized areas like Jammu and North-east India.
• Reactive, not proactive:
  • The NCW take up issues which affect women’s rights but there is rarely any follow-up. Apart from expressing displeasure, the NCW seems incapable of making sure that issues relating to women are not taken up and dropped so routinely.
• Poor awareness among masses:
  • Despite its existence for over 3 decades, NCW had failed to sensitize the people about women empowerment and impart sufficient knowledge to women about their rights and avenues for grievance redressal.
  • This is evident in the high number of crimes against women, particularly within households. From 2016 to 2021, nearly 22.8 lakh crimes against women were recorded in India, of which about 30 % were reported under Section 498A (cruelty by a husband or his relatives).
• Anti-Women remarks:
  • The NCW has a history of insensitive, even anti-women, remarks made by those who represent it. This affects its credibility as an institution for the welfare and protection of women in the country.

WAY FORWARD:

• Widen NCW’s powers:
  • Women's role is continuously expanding in today’s India and the expansion of the role of the NCW is the need of the hour.
• Transparent selection process:
  • The selection of the chairperson and members should be merit-based, transparent and democratic. An independent committee can be created for this matter.
• Social Audit:
  • Conduct regular social audits of women's commissions by external agencies to assess their performance, utilization of funds, and impact.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Q. National Commission for Women has been able to strategize and tackle the problems that woman faces in public and private spheres. Critically analyse?