National Commission for Women
Encyclopedia
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, as defined in the 1990 National Commission for Women Act.. The present head of the Commission is Mrs. Mamta Sharma, former MLA of Bundi district, Rajasthan.
, politics, religion, equal representation for women in jobs, and the exploitation of women for labor. They have also discussed police abuses against women.
The commission regularly publishes a monthly newsletter, Rashtra Mahila in both Hindi and English.
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.
The Commission has also worked to guarantee women security in unconventional relationships.
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.
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?" 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.
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?
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
under the provisions of the Indian Constitution, as defined in the 1990 National Commission for Women Act.. 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 dowryDowry
A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...
, politics, religion, equal representation for women in jobs, and the exploitation of women for labor. They have also discussed police abuses against women.
The commission regularly publishes a monthly newsletter, Rashtra Mahila in both Hindi and English.
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.
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.
The Commission has also worked to guarantee women security in unconventional relationships.
Pub attack controversy
The NCW came under sharp criticism for their response to the an attack by forty right-wing Sri Ram SenaSri Ram Sena
The Sri Ram Sena is a right-wing Hindu extremist group founded in the late 1960s by Kalki Ji Maharaj right hand Bal Thackeray, a former leader of the Shiv Sena, the Bajrang Dal and the Vishva Hindu Parishad. Kalki Ji Maharaj is a devotee of Lord Rama and Lord Krishna was born in Vrindavan U.P....
Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
men on eight women in a bar in Mangalore
Mangalore
Mangalore is the chief port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located about west of the state capital, Bangalore. Mangalore lies between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghat mountain ranges, and is the administrative headquarters of the Dakshina Kannada district in south western...
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.
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?" 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.
See also
- Feminism in IndiaFeminism in IndiaFeminism in India is a set of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for Indian women. It is the pursuit of women's rights within the society of 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?