Woman and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi has said her Ministry has started work on collecting responses from stakeholders and through inter-ministerial discussion on the changes required for strengthening the policy to empower women. The high-level committee has also submitted it recommendations to the Government.
The National Policy for Empowerment of Women (2001) was formulated to end discrimination and all forms of violence against women and the girl child, empower them and involve them in the critical development processes.The Ministry is focusing on safety, education, employment and confidence building- which are critical for the 58 crore women population- in where over 41 crore live in rural areas.
“We are focusing on the National Commission for Women through reforms to enable it to act like the National Human Rights Commission,” said Maneka, speaking to the media.“We want to give more teeth to NCW would mean allowing provisions for investigating tools, power to summon in cases and to recommend punishment. This will give women a platform to register their grievances and expect affirmative action,” she said.
Maneka said that the women needed more platforms where they can feel more confident in registering their problems.“Right now women have no proper platforms where women can freely go for justice. We are also working on establishing one stop rape crisis centres, covering every district in the country, which will ensure a rape victim is given personal guidance on legal, medical and police procedures,” said Maneka.
Another area of safety is the plan for setting up working women's hostels across all districts in India to facilitate improved working conditions. She is also proposing to establish an all India distress helpline for women, which keeps track of all cases."We are also focusing on creating better and safer toilets for women across the country," she said. Maneka said that she will work towards raising education and empowerment level through skill development, an area where women are noticeably low in presence in India.
Maneka also plans to revamp the Rashtriya Mahila Kosh in the near future.