By IANS,
New Delhi: A special cell to address the issues faced by Dalit women is being set up by the National Commission for Women (NCW) in an effort to fight injustice against this section of society, Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath said Tuesday.
“Welfare of Dalit women needs special attention as they have been discriminated against by other sections of the society for long. Though many programmes have been drafted by various ministries, there is a need to create mass awareness so that these women can come forward to take advantage of these schemes,” she said while inaugurating the Dalit Women’s Congress, “Abhaya Jeevan”, in the capital.
“More short-stay homes and help line services will also be arranged by the Central Social Welfare Board for the Dalit women. Also, self-help groups of such women will be provided more funding and training for capacity building through the Rashtriya Mahila Kosh programme,” Krishna Tirath added.
The women and child devopment ministry is also conducting a study on the status of Dalit women so that programmes and policies can be tuned in accordance to their needs, the minister said.
Addressing the conference, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Mukul Wasnik laid stress on education and better health facilities for Dalit women.
“By March 2010, all manual scavengers will be rehabilitated,” he added.