New Delhi : The National Human Right Commission (NHRC) Tuesday called for the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill to give them one-third seats in parliament and state legislatures.
It also called for the successful implementation of women related policies.
Addressing the 58th Session of the National Human Rights Institution’s (NHRI) Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in Geneva, Switzerland, NHRC chairperson Justice K.G Balakrishnan said: “For the successful implementation of women related policies, it is of critical importance that the 16th Lok Sabha urgently passes the Women’s Reservation Bill to give them one-third seats in parliament and legislative assemblies”.
He said that conviction in crimes against women is low and the criminal justice system needs to be overhauled as it has not been able to respond to the needs of widespread gender-based violence.
“The twelfth Plan document, on the basis of NCRB data, indicates total number of crimes against women have increased by 29.6 percent between 2006 and 2010. These included dowry deaths, early marriages, domestic violence, abductions, acid attacks, sexual assault as well as female foeticide”, Balakrishnan said, referring to the National Crime Record Bureau data.
In all India Gross Enrolment Ratio, there is a gender gap both in the general and the reserved categories of boys and girls and the same is the case with the overall literacy rate, even though it has increased for women from 53.67 percent in 2001 to 65.4 percent in 2011 Census.
Balakrishnan said the police should be more accountable as the they seem to be insensitive to the women related cases due to traditional and patriarchal mind-sets. They should be made more accountable.
The Armed Forces Special Power Act in Jammu & Kashmir and northeastern states confers an impunity on the armed forces personnel which often leads to the violation of human rights.
“Most often, in cases of sexual assault, many a time, the victims are discouraged by the community and even by the police for resorting to legal remedy. Despite long drawn out legal process, the low conviction rate is also resulting in the harassment of the victims,” he said.
He said that during 2013, the NHRC registered a total of 288 cases of sexual harassment of women at various places and 59 cases of sexual harassment in government offices though the Supreme Court had laid the guidelines ensuring women’s safety at workplace in the famous case of Vishakha vs State of Rajasthan in 1997.
“Trafficking of women and girls still continues both for sexual exploitation as well as for illegal labour in spite of the government initiatives like Ujjwala Scheme. They face different kinds of harassment, including false implication and unlawful detention,” Balakrishnan said.
“Open defecation, especially in rural areas, also increases vulnerability of girls to rape as seen in the recent case of rape of girls in Badayun in Uttar Pradesh,” he said.