By IANS,
New Delhi : Women’s right activists Tuesday came down heavily on the government for not allocating enough money for implementing the law against domestic violence.
“Government is not putting money to implement the Protection of Women against Domestic Violence Act. The finance minister doesn’t have time for us. We wanted to meet him,” Ranjana Kumari of the Centre for Social Research told reporters.
She said after the Dec 16, 2012, gangrape in the city “the society has woken up but has the government woken up. We want the money to be given” as per commitments.
There was no point in having a law which could not be implemented, she added.
Another activist, Anuradha Kapoor said for training and capacity building nearly Rs.1,158 crore were needed.
The women and child development minister announced Monday that Rs.100 crore would be given for the purpose but that was not even 10 percent of the amount needed, she said.
“The government is not serious about ending violence against women,” Kapoor added.
There has been no systematic and dedicated budget for implementation of the law, said Amrita Basu of the PWDV Act Action and Advocacy Group, which represents NGOs working in this field.
According to data available, almost two in five married women in India have experienced domestic violence.
Domestic violence was recognised as a criminal offence in 1983 and the PWDV Act was passed in 2005.
The act proposed protection officers for women who face violence, providing shelter homes and medical facilities to victims and support for women to access the law.