By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net,
Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh cabinet at its meeting chaired by the Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday endorsed the proposed new Women Policy-2008-12 for the state, an official Press release said.
The policy aims at ensuring total and dignified participation of women in development process and integrating them with the mainstream of development. Other objectives of the policy include providing protection to women in every field, their empowerment and ensuring result-oriented implementation of the various policies, programmes and schemes for their all round development and welfare.
The policy addresses burning issues pertaining to women. It seeks to effectively prevent female foeticide as part of the efforts to maintain gender balance. For this, the relevant laws would be enforced more vigorously and social awareness would be enhanced in this regard. A proper mechanism would be put in place to curb violence and crime against women in a more effective manner so that women can come out openly to resist the violence and crime against them. A congenial atmosphere would be created for empowerment of women and girls through education and to provide them quality health care and nutrition.
The new policy envisages augmenting employment opportunities for women and to enhance their capacities to earn better income. Special efforts would be made for development of adolescent girls with particular emphasis on their health, education, nutrition and prevention of their sexual abuse and exploitation. Their capacities would be enhanced to better participate in the process of important decision making and system. While ensuring their participation in public spending as per their requirements and priorities gender budget arrangement would be further extended and its proper implementation would be ensured. The policy provides for better protection to female labourers and proper implementation and evaluation of laws and policies to safeguard their interests.
The policy provides for effective curb on sexual harassment of women at work place and the guidelines of the Supreme Court in this regard would be implemented in right earnest. Besides, active participation of women would be ensured in matters related to forests, water, cleanliness and environment in rural and urban areas. Equal opportunities and facilities would be provided to women living in difficult conditions. Their access to information resources would be increased to ensure their participation in information communication technology. The policy provisions, programmes and schemes pertaining to women would be monitored and evaluated and on its basis annual reports would be prepared.
The Madhya Pradesh Government has also prepared an Action Plan to provide benefit of the policy to women. While ensuring proper implementation of the policy efforts would be made to change the mindset and mentality of women and society towards women. It would be developed into a movement. The Action Plan has incorporated the different points as per the provisions of the policy. It specifies at to what would be the institutional arrangement, what activities would be carried out and which departments would be responsible for them. ([email protected])