National Commission for Women

Why is in news? NCW issues memo on prevention of sexual harassment

The National Commission for Women (NCW) has asked the States to ensure that coaching centres and educational institutes strictly implement the law against sexual harassment at the workplace.

Expressing concern over incidents of sexual harassment at coaching centres, the NCW has written to the Chief Secretaries to direct the authorities to ensure the strict implementation of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 and guidelines established thereunder.

In recent years, sexual harassment at workplace is becoming one of the most pressing issues affecting women across the globe. The Commission is concerned of incidence of sexual harassment in coaching/educational institutions.

National Commission for Women:

The National Commission for Women was set up as statutory body in January 1992 under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990.

The commission consists of a chairperson, a member secretary and five other members. The chairperson of the NCW is nominated by the Central Government.

Its mission is to strive towards enabling women to achieve equality and equal participation in all spheres of life by securing her due rights and entitlements through suitable policy formulation, legislative measures, etc.

Functions:

review the Constitutional and Legal safeguards for women ;

recommend remedial legislative measures ;

facilitate redressal of grievances and

advise the Government on all policy matters affecting women.

In keeping with its mandate, the Commission initiated various steps to improve the status of women and worked for their economic empowerment during the year under report.

The Commission has received a large number of complaints and acted suo-moto in several cases to provide speedy justice.

It took up the issue of child marriage, sponsored legal awareness programmes, Parivarik Mahila Lok Adalats and reviewed laws such as Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, PNDT Act 1994, Indian Penal Code 1860 and the National Commission for Women Act, 1990 to make them more stringent and effective.

It organized workshops/consultations, constituted expert committees on economic empowerment of women, conducted workshops/seminars for gender awareness and took up publicity campaign against female foeticide, violence against women etc. in order to generate awareness in the society against these social evils.