By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The All India Mahila Congress president Anita Verma on Thursday issued a clarion call to women asking them to ‘gherao’ police stations if issues related to crime against women are not properly addressed by the respective state governments.
Verma, who was here to attend the first North East Regional Conference of Mahila Congress, made the observation when media persons inquired about the party’s stand in relation to the high occurrence of rapes and other crimes against women in the region and elsewhere.
“If the government fails to address the issues properly, our women members should gherao police stations to achieve the desired results,” she said.
In the absence of positive response from the government in addressing the rising trend of crimes against women, the party workers should go to the districts and blocks to create awareness, she added.
“The matter should be brought to the notice of the National Commission for Women, if in any case the respective state women commissions fail to effectively tackle such issues,” Verma added.
Matters relating to non-cooperation by the men in uniform in cases related to crime against women should be directly taken up with the NCW, the Mahila Congress president said.
On the Women’s Reservation Bill, Verma said parliamentarians who do not support the Bill when it will be placed in the Lok Sabha would have to face the ire of women voters during the elections.
She lamented the fact that despite the numerous schemes introduced by the Central Government for women empowerment, there still exist a large number of women who remain unaware of these schemes. The Mahila Congress chief, however, lamented the bad conditions of the roads in Shillong saying that a state which shares the same natural beauty like Himachal Pradesh deserves better roads than the existing ones. Earlier during the function, Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma said there is a need to empower the women politically, socially and economically. The laws to protect the women need to be enforced to prevent the alarming rise of crime against women which is prevalent in all the states. Meanwhile, MPCC working president Deborah Marak slammed MPCC president Friday Lyngdoh for his earlier comments on the abilities of a woman. “He takes women as nothing but a cook in the kitchen,” she said, while referring to Friday’s comments. Others who spoke at the function included Urban Affairs Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh and MPCC president Friday Lyngdoh. The first meeting of the North East Regional Conference of Mahila Congress assumes significance in the context of the upcoming assembly elections in three Northeast states — Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura — in early 2013.