As a response to the Minister of Women and Child Development, Ms. Maneka Gandhi's proposal to reform National Commission for Women (NCW) to bring it at "par with NHRC", core member of Mission Bhartiyam, Devika Mittal, wrote to the Minister for Women and Child Development regarding the pathetic grievance redressal system of NCW.
To,
The Minister for Women and Child Development
Shastri Bhawan,
New Delhi 110001
Kind Attention: Ms. Maneka Gandhi
Subject: Concerns regarding the pathetic grievance redressal system of NCW
Respected Madam,
This is with reference to the Times of India report dated 17th July 2014 about your proposals to make National Commission for Women (NCW) more effective and at par with NHRC. In this regard, I would like to draw your attention to certain facts about the current system that may help in this necessary initiative to be taken by you.
NCW is seen as an apex body for justice for women. It is a hope for deprived women across the country. Having been an intern at NCW, I have seen this from the amount and the content of the complaint letters. Yet, NCW is not able to live up to the expectations. It is largely ineffective not only because it is not empowered to impart justice as you rightly pointed out in the Times of India article but because the very first step i.e. to lodge a complaint is also difficult. This is also because of many reasons. I have found several times that the numbers listed on NCW website are not reachable. The number is either disconnected or there is no response. The situation may be temporary but it is a serious matter. On 30thJune, out of the 4 numbers listed, only one was working. This is not expected from a national level body.
The emails mentioned in the website tell a similar story. While NCW encourages one to file a complaint through email, there is no response. I have sent several mails, the last one sent on 1 July and till now, I have not received any acknowledgement. The same situation also holds true for letters sent by post. I have sent several letters to NCW and I have never got any response. When I called at NCW to inquire about it and get my complaint number, they were clueless about the letter. This is unlike the situation in any other government body.
As I previously stated, I have done an internship at NCW for a short period and during my experience, I have seen the amount of letters that come each day. I have processed letters that were dated 6 months back. It is a dismal situation. I understand that it was also because of the insufficient human power that exists at NCW. In this regard, I propose several suggestions for your consideration. These are:
*It should be ensured that the numbers are always working. There should also be a caller-id system installed.
*The email system should be made effective. Like in other bodies, the mail should be responded back with an acknowledgement and a complaint number.
*There should be a time-bound system to respond to complaints.
*There should be an increase in the human power at NCW.
I hope that the above suggestions will be considered to make NCW more effective and responsive to the needs of the contemporary situation.
Thanking You
Regards,
Devika Mittal
Mission Bhartiyam
(A registered group of students and young professionals,
working in the fields of Peace & Harmony, Huamn Rights and Environment)
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