The National Commission for Women would focus on tribal issues in the country in a big way, Mamta Sharma, chairperson of the commission, said here on Friday.
She was speaking on the sidelines of a national seminar on ‘Empowerment of Women in the Era of Globalisation: Challenges and Opportunities’, at the Pondicherry University.
Sharma, a former Rajasthan MLA, said the women of tribal communities of the country were the most neglected lot and the Commission would take up their rights issues.
She said the NCW would bring out a booklet on the rights of women, with topics dealing with their rights, domestic violence, sections of laws pertaining to women and self defence. It would be published in English, Tamil, Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu and would be released in January, she added.
On launching the Mahila Adhikar Abhiyan in five States, she said the NCW would take up awareness programmes on women’s rights, domestic violence, female foeticide and dowry menace in the country with the help of NGOs.
Pointing out that domestic violence was on the rise in the country, she blamed the enforcing agencies for not implementing laws.
She said that there was a common perception about the misuse of the provisions of Section 498 A of Indian Penal Code by women and such cases registered for with the intent of misuse were negligible in number. Often, the police refused to register the affected women’s complaints (for dowry harassment) pointing to its misuse. Sharma said the Commission would hold sensitisation programmes for police personnel across the country.
On the flurry of rape incidents in Punjab recently, she said the NCW had sought an Action Taken Report (ATR) from the State government. She also informed that an NCW team would visit Punjab to take up the issue.