Chizokho Vero
Kohima | August 1
The draft Nagaland State Women Empowerment Policy 2006 will be submitted to the state government very soon. Interacting with The Morung Express, additional director for Women Development Neilavou Keditsu said the draft will be submitted to the state government within this week for approval. Several women leaders representing various organizations joined the final meeting for the draft today.
“We all have to work hard to bring change and create a better Nagaland,” opined Sano Vamuzo, chairperson of Nagaland State Commission for Women. It envisages that the legal-judicial system will be made more responsive and gender sensitive to women’s need, especially in cases of domestic violence and personal assault.
“New laws will be enacted and existing laws reviewed to ensure that justice is quick and the punishment meted out to the culprits is commensurate with the severity of the offence,” it said. Adding at the initiative of and with the full participation of all stakeholders including community and religious leaders, the policy would aim to encourage changes in personal laws such as those related to marriage, divorce, maintenance and guardianship so as to eliminate discrimination against women.
The policy would aim to encourage changes in laws relating to ownership of property and inheritance by evolving consensus in order to make them gender just, it said adding the government shall set up a legal advice cell at the state level with two special tasks.
The draft said that women’s active participation in decision making, including decision making in political process at all levels will be ensured for the achievement of the goals of empowerment.
Women –friendly personnel policies will also be drawn up to encourage women to participate effectively in the developmental process.
Also, in order to enhance women’s access to credit for consumption and production, the establishment of new and strengthening of existing micro-credit mechanisms and micro-finance institution will be undertaken so that credit outreach is enhanced.
Women’s perspectives will be included in designing and implementing micro-economic and social policies by institutionalizing their participation in such processes. Their contribution to socio-economic development as producers and workers will be recognized in the formal and informal sectors (including home based workers) and appropriate policies relating to employment and to her working conditions will be drawn up, the draft stated. Further, strategies will be designed to enhance the capacity of women and empower them to meet the negative social and economic impacts, which may flow from the globalization process.
The draft said the provision of support services for women, like child care facilities including crèches at work places and education institutions, homes for the aged and the disabled will be expended and improved to create an enabling environment and to ensure their full cooperation in social, political and economic life.
The government will progressively introduce schemes to encourage women groups to start overnight shelters for women who have been rendered destitute. All efforts will be made to rehabilitate commercial sex workers. The state/local bodies will be responsible for ensuring minimum hygiene and sanitation requirements of the area, as well as schools and night-care centers to cater to specific requirements of the children of these women.
All forms of violence against women, physical and mental, whether at domestic or societal levels, including those arising from customs, traditions or accepted practices shall be dealt with effectively with a view to eliminate its incidence,” it said adding institutions and mechanisms/schemes for assistance will be created and strengthened for prevention of such violence, including sexual harassment at work places and customs like ‘dowry’ for the rehabilitation of the victims of violence and for taking up effective action against the perpetrators of such violence.
Special emphasis will also be laid on programmes and measures to deal with trafficking of women and girls. Induction of 10 per cent of women in the police forces, as per Home Ministry’s directive, will be ensured. Women’s Cell in all district police stations will be set up,” it said.
The local self governments will be actively involved in the implementation and execution of the state policy for women at the grassroots level, adding “The Nagaland Village and Area Council Act, 1978 will be emended to ensure adequate representation of women in local self government bodies” it stated.
The draft also touched on education, health, nutrition, drinking water and sanitation, housing and shelter, environment, science and technology, gender sensitization, resources management, institutional mechanisms, rights of the girl child, mass media, etc.
In regard to action plan, it said that the state department will draw up time-bound action plans for translating the policy into a set of concrete actions, through a participatory process of consultation with State Commission for Women.
A State Council will be formed to oversee the operational of the policy on a regular basis. State Resource centers on women will be established with mandates for collection and dissemination of information, undertaking research work, conducting surveys, implementing training and awareness generation programmes, etc., the draft said
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