Coming down heavily on the State Government for turning a blind eye to the severe caste atrocities on ST, SC and Dalit people, the All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch (AIDMAM) on Thursday appealed to all stakeholders to ensure that Dalit and tribal girls and women are safe in the State.
Manch national coordinator Anju Singh told reporters here, “During our visit to 45 villages in 11 districts in the State recently, we found brutal and heinous crimes particularly against Dalit and tribal women. The utter failure of the police and administration in securing justice to the victims of caste violence is highly condemnable.”
Odisha Forum for Social Action convenor Ajaya Kumar Singh maintained that there is an overarching fear and insecurity not just among the atrocity survivors but also among the Dalit Adivasi communities as the perpetrators of caste-based gender violence make a mockery of the criminal justice delivery system.
They urged the Government to strengthen institutional mechanism and demanded that provision of a special budgetary package for them be made.
“We demand stringent action against the offenders, adequate compensation and proper rehabilitation to the atrocity victims along with Government jobs as per Rules 12(4) of SCs & STs (PoA), provision of special Component Plan, amendment to the PoA Act and stringent punishment for Government officials for negligence,” said Singh.
The Manch also demanded that Dalit and tribal communities be represented in the State Commission for Women, the Commission for Child Rights Protection, a strong monitoring mechanism to check pregnancy cases in SC/ST Ashram schools and hostels for Dalit and Muslim students in every block with proportionate pre- and post-metric scholarships.