National Commission for Women

The National Commission for Women (NCW) is a statutory body for women established in 1992 by Government of India under the provisions of the Indian Constitution,^[1] as defined in the 1990 National Commission for Women Act.^[2]. The present head of the Commission is Mrs. Mamta Sharma, former MLA of Bundi district, Rajasthan.

Activities

The objective of the NCW is to represent the rights of women in India and to provide a voice for their issues and concerns. The subjects of their campaigns have included dowry, politics, religion, equal representation for women in jobs, and the exploitation of women for labor. They have also discussed police abuses against women.^[3]

The commission regularly publishes a monthly newsletter, Rashtra Mahila in both Hindi and English.^[4]

Positions

In December 2006 and January 2007, the NCW found itself at the center of a minor controversy over its insistence that the law not be changed to make adulterous wives equally prosecutable by their husbands.

But the grounds on which Ms. Vyas resists the logic of making this a criminal offence — particularly for women, as often recommended — are not as encouraging. She is averse to holding the adulterous woman equally culpable as the adulterous man because women, she believes, are never offenders. They are always the victims.^[5]

The NCW has demanded that women should not be punished for adultery, as a woman is "the victim and not an offender" in such cases. They have also advocated for the amendment of Section 198 of CrPC to allow women to file complaints against unfaithful husbands and prosecute them for their promiscuous behaviours. This was in response to loopholes in the Indian Penal code that allowed men to file adultery charges against other men who have engaged in illicit relations but does not allow women to file charges against their husbands.^[6]

The Commission has also worked to guarantee women security in unconventional relationships.^[5]

Pub attack controversy

Main article: 2009 Mangalore pub attack

The NCW came under sharp criticism for their response to the an attack by forty right-wing Sri Ram Sena Hindu men on eight women in a bar in Mangalore in late January 2009. Video from the attack shows the women were punched, pulled by their hair, and thrown out of the pub for acting immorally.^[7][8]

NCW member Smt Nirmala Venkatesh was sent to assess the situation, and said in an interview that the pub did not have adequate security and that the women should have protected themselves. Venkatesh said, "If the girls feel they were not doing anything wrong why are they afraid to come forward and give a statement?"^[9] On 6 February, the NCW said they decided not to accept Venkatesh's report but would not be sending a new team to Mangalore. On 27 February, The Prime Minister’s Office approved the removal of Nirmala Venkatesh on disciplinary grounds.^[10]

See also

• Feminism in India

Comments

It must be counted as one of the oddities of the NCW that men are always seen to be the offenders. Perhaps there is something to the perspective that women are 'always the victims'. The Susairaj woman, who helped her paramour chop a human body into small parts and dispose of it, yet only got three years. She was, after all, a woman.

Odd also that in today's society, there is no distinguishing between the underprivileged woman of lower society, and the socialite leading the high life, who is also perhaps the CEO of a large organisation. She too will always be seen to be a 'victim' by the NCW. A body dominated by women, apparently. Where has the pride women are supposed to have gone?

References

1. ^ About NCW National Commission for Women official website
2. ^ Act No. 20 of 1990 of Govt.of India
3. ^ http://www.indiatogether.org/2006/may/wom-ncw.htm
4. ^ http://ncw.nic.in/publications.htm
5. ^ ^{a b} One World.net
6. ^ Prakash, Satya, "What constitutes adultery?" Hindustan Times, 25 December 2006, [1]
7. ^ "Mangalore: Attack on Pub now a National Concern!". http://www.mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=broadcast&broadcastid=110268. Retrieved 2009-02-06. 
8. ^ "India shocked as ‘moral police’ beat girls out of pub". Russia Today. http://russiatoday.com/features/news/36875. Retrieved 2009-02-06. 
9. ^ Roche, Florine (2009-01-30). "Mangalore Pub Attack - National Commission for Women Recommends Punishment Under Article 307". http://www.daijiworld.com/chan/exclusive_arch.asp?ex_id=1023. Retrieved 2009-02-06. 
10. ^ "NCW rejects report, blames security lapse for pub attacks". 2009-02-06. http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1815488. Retrieved 2009-02-06. ^{[dead link]}

External links

• The National Commission for Women, India, Official website