SHILLONG: Chairperson in charge of the National Commission for Women (NCW), Rekha Sharma has said the functioning of state commissions for women has been hindered as states were not providing financial aid.
Asked whether the NCW would direct the police department to get the details of pending cases, she said, “State commissions are working on these reports but again they are not getting financial aid from the states. They (members) are not getting proper salaries in the Northeastern states.”
“The state government should first empower their state commissions and then only they will be able to work properly,” she added.
On the pending cases, she said there has been a demand all over India for special courts for women as cases were going slow.
Trafficking
Though the NCW has not received any case of domestic violence, particularly dowry related, from the Northeast, however, trafficking of women has emerged as another challenge for the commission.
Sharma informed that trafficking is increasing especially in Assam and some places in Mizoram where women are taken away for working in massage parlours/beauty parlours.
“Sometimes they are getting used for different reasons and taken away from the country. NCW is working on trafficking and we have seen that nowadays we are getting a lot of complaints from this region,” she added.
On the rehabilitation of trafficked women, Sharma said women are provided shelter after being rescued. She further mooted the idea of giving them skill training in order to start their own business.
Asked about the reasons that lure women to fall into the trap, she said that women were being showed false dreams. Besides, poverty also has led many into the trap.
To prevent women from being lured into such trade, the NCW chief said, “We should provide them the means where they live and provide enough work and training to them.”
“MNREGA is there but not many people get jobs under it. If we give them jobs, they will not look for opportunities outside and traffickers will not take them out,” Sharma said.
Political/religious/social
participation
With regard to political participation, Sharma has urged all political parties to give maximum seats to women.
“We should have got 50 per cent but at least to start with they should give 33 per cent to the women of the state. Why are they afraid that women will lose? Even men lose elections. Let them at least get a chance to prove themselves,” she said.
Sharma observed that women do not have much say in religious, social or politics spheres and hence they need to be financially empowered.
According to her, if women are financially strong, they will have a lot of say.
