The Hindu : T.N. urged to revamp women's commission

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 18, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

T.N. urged to revamp women's commission

By Our Staff Correspondent

NEW DELHI JUNE 17. Not too happy with the functioning of the Women's Commission in Tamil Nadu, the National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson, Purnima Advani, has written to the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, to revamp it by giving it a statutory status, full-time staff and financial resources to make it an effective instrument for changing the destinies of women.

"Your path-breaking measures to enhance the status of Tamil Nadu's `kudimagals' encourage us to urge to review the status and working of the State Commission for Women. This institution, created in 1993, has an impressive mandate but insufficient wherewithals. It suffers from deficiencies in three areas; status, personnel and funds,'' Dr. Advani says in the letters.

The NCW, and indeed most State commissions, have been created as autonomous bodies by acts of the legislature to enable them to function as watchdogs of the rights and interests of women. "The Tamil Nadu Commission shares with Haryana the dubious distinction of working as a subordinate adjunct of the Department of Social Welfare. We understand that a bill to vest it with a statutory character has been on the anvil for several years,'' the letter says, while impressing upon the Chief Minister to have the law enacted at the earliest.

The Tamil Nadu Commission comprises five non-official members, including the chairperson who are all part-time functionaries. The four official members are also part-time workers hardly able to find time for the Commission's activities. Even the member-secretary has full-time responsibilities as Director of Social Welfare. Last but not the least, the budgetary resources of less than Rs. 1.5 lakhs can hardly allow meaningful intervention on behalf of the large body of women of a premier State such as Tamil Nadu. The Government should consider vesting the Commission with resources commensurate with its role and functions, the letter says, a copy of which has also been sent to the Tamil Nadu Governor.

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