Forever headless: J&K State Women Commission

JAMMU, March 7: A little less than six years ago, a new Congress-PDP coalition government took over the reigns in violence-hit Jammu and Kashmir in November 2002. Three months later, Dr Girija Dhar, a renowned doctor-surgeon, chairperson of Jammu and Kashmir State Women Commission (SWC) submitted her resignation in February 2003. Since then the Jammu and Kashmir State Commission for Women (SCW), which was constituted in 2000 to look into the problems of women of J&K, has remained headless. Now, as the J&K coalition government would be completing its six-year term in October 2008, women's rights and welfare appear to be far from the minds of the male-dominated political arena in Jammu and Kashmir. Both the Congress party, which is headed by a woman as also the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) headed by a firebrand leader Ms Mehbooba Mufti, have failed to rescue Kashmiri women. Instead, crocodile tears are being shed as terrorism has cast an evil shadow on the lives of women in the state. For all these years of Congress-PDP rule in J&K, there has been no chairperson of the State Women's Commission (SWC). Constituted in 1999, it has been functioning without a chairperson since 2003, while the Commission Member-Secretary, has been managing the Commission alone with the help of a consultative committee, which comprises nominated members from NGOs, legal, social and other organisations. “The State Women Commission is not only headless but without members too, as both its members have completed their terms,” said Anuradha Goswami, chairperson, Women Empowerment Forum (WEF), J&K. Time and again, the J&K government has been asked to fill the positions, of chairperson and two members due to an increasing number of cases, related mainly to the issue of re-marriage, compensation to the aggrieved women complainants in case of divorce, domestic violence and sexual harassment. But to no avail.The apathetic attitude of the present government towards women's issues in troubled valley is quite evident from the fact that the State Women Commission is now bound to remain headless for almost full term of the coalition government. No steps have been taken to give some teeth to the body which could protect the rights of the Kashmiri women. The woes of Kashmiri women have multiplied in the absence of a strong Women's Commission. While the National Commission for Women (NCW) has no jurisdiction over the state of Jammu and Kashmir, there is a dire need of a strong SWC in the troubled state.Even though the previous Farooq Abdullah government constituted Jammu and Kashmir State Commission for Women Act, 1999 which was passed by the Jammu and Kashmir state legislature after the assent of the Governor on 13 April 1999 by the National Conference government, the Women's Commission ultimately saw the light in March 2000. Its main objective was to investigate and examine all matters relating to women, review constitutional laws affecting the fairer sex, get them amended if necessary, generate awareness about the Commission among the women, form the network of NGOs and the media for the purpose.Couple of years ago, the present chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad's wife Mrs Shamima Azad was appointed as SWC chairperson but she did not take up the post. Both Azad and Mufti have remained silent when it comes to women's issues, especially with regard to the SWC.
The Statesman; Kavita Suri