It was set up to prevent violence and abuse against women in a patriarchal society where women are left vulnerable.
Basic Facts
- Established on – January 31, 1992.
- Headquarters – Nirbhaya Bhavan, New Delhi.
- Works under – Ministry of Women & Child Development.
- Total Members – 5 (Chairman & 4 members).
- First Chairperson of NCW – Jayanti Patnaik.
- Current Chairperson of NCW – Vijaya Kishore Rahatkar (10th).
- First Member Secretary of NCW – Uma Pillai.
- Current Member Secretary of NCW – Meenakshi Negi (19th).
- First Male Member of NCW – Alok Rawat.
- Longest-served Chairperson of NCW – Rekha Sharma (3 terms; 9 years; 8th chairperson).
- Newsletter published by NCW – Rashtra Mahila (Monthly; English & Hindi).
History
Prior to National Commission for Women, the Ministry of Education and Social Welfare appointed a special committee called the Committee on the Status of Women in India (CSWI) in 1971 to the status and condition of women in Indian society.
This committee was set up as a part of UN's mandatory requirement to assess the social conditions of women in association with International Women’s year celebrations in 1975.
It brought forward many of the issues faced by the women in the society such as gender gap, declining sex ratio, higher female infant mortality, wage inequality, and women’s access to literacy, education, and livelihood, and submitted its report "Towards Equality" to the UN.
This may be considered as the stepping stone for the formation of the National Commission for Women, an effort from the Government level to safeguard women and their rights.
Many panels/committees thereafter emphasized the need for an apex body for women. So in 1990, the central govt decided to set up a statutory body after consulting with various NGOs, social workers, experts in the relevant fields, etc.
The National Commission for Women Bill was presented in the Lok Sabha on May 22, 1990. The proposed bill had many limitations regarding the powers and functions of the commission. It was therefore re-drafted and reintroduced in Parliament on 10 August 1990.
The revised bill was subsequently passed by the Parliament and, following the signature of the President, came into force on 30 August 1990.
Structure of NCW
The national commission for women is comprised of 5 members (Section 3). Out of which one is chairperson, a member secretary and the other are 4 full-time members. At least one member must belong to the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe.
All the members of the Commission are nominated by the Central Govt. of India.
- Appointed by – Central Govt. of India.
- Term – 3 years or till the age of 65 years.
- Removed by – Central Govt. of India.
The Section 4 of the National Commission for Women Act, 1990 outlines the term of office and conditions of service of Chairperson and its members.
The chairman or the members can resign from their respective positions in the commission at any time, by submitting a resignation letter to the Central Govt. of India.
List of Chairpersons of NCW
The Former chairpersons of the National Commission for Women were as follows:
| Sl. No. | Name | Term |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jayanti Patnaik | 3 Feb 1992 – 30 Jan 1995 |
| 2 | Dr. V. Mohini Giri | 21 July 1995 – 20 July 1998 |
| 3 | Vibha Parthasarathy | 18 Jan 1999 – 17 Jan 2002 |
| 4 | Poornima Advani | 25 Jan 2002 – 24 Jan 2005 |
| 5 | Girija Vyas | 16 Feb 2005 – 15 Feb 2008 |
| 6 | Girija Vyas | 9 April 2008 – 8 April 2011 |
| 7 | Mamta Sharma | 2 Aug 2011 – 1 Aug 2014 |
| 8 | Lalitha Kumaramangalam | 29 Sep 2014 – 28 Sep 2017 |
| 9 | Rekha Sharma | 7 Aug 2018 – Incumbent |
Powers & Functions of the NCW
The Commission shall perform all or any of the following functions, namely:—
- investigate and examine all matters relating to the safeguards provided for women under the Constitution and other law;
- present to the Central Government, annually and at such other times as the Commission may deem fit, reports upon the working of those safeguards;
- make in such reports recommendations for the effective implementation of those safeguards for improving the conditions of women by the Union or any State;
- review, from time to time, the existing provisions of the Constitution and other laws affecting women and recommend amendments thereto so as to suggest remedial legislative measures to meet any lacunae, inadequacies, or shortcomings in such legislations;
- take up the cases of violation of the provisions of the Constitution and of other laws relating to women with the appropriate authorities;
- look into complaints and take Suo moto notice of matters relating to—
- deprivation of women’s rights;
- non-implementation of laws enacted to provide protection to women and also to achieve the objective of equality and development;
- non-compliance of policy decisions, guidelines, or instructions aimed at mitigating
- hardships and ensuring the welfare and providing relief to women,
- and take up the issues arising out of such matters with appropriate authorities;
- call for special studies or investigations into specific problems or situations arising out of discrimination and atrocities against women and identify the constraints so as to recommend strategies for their removal;
- undertake promotional and educational research so as to suggest ways of ensuring due representation of women in all spheres and identify factors responsible for impeding their advancement, such as lack of access to housing and basic services, inadequate support services and technologies for reducing drudgery and occupational health hazards and for increasing their productivity;
- (i) participate and advise on the planning process of socio-economic development of women;
- evaluate the progress of the development of women under the Union and any State;
- inspect or cause to be inspected a jail, remand home, women’s institution or other places of custody where women are kept as prisoners or otherwise, and take up with the concerned authorities for remedial action if found necessary;
- fund litigation involving issues affecting a large body of women;
- make periodical reports to the Government on any matter pertaining to women and in particular various difficulties under which women toil;
- any other matter which may be referred to it by the Central Government.
Limitations
- Lack of real legislative authority.
- Depends on financial assistance from the Central Government.
- Does not possess the power to choose its own members.
The National Commission for Women submits its annual report and audit report to the Central Government and then presented in the each House of the Parliament.
* Statutory Body: a non constitutional organization/institution set up Indian parliament.
1min Youtube Video Link with Main Points:
📝SideNotes:
- International Women's Day – March 8.
- National Women's Day – February 13 (Birthday of Sarojini Naidu, first Governor of an Indian State).
- Nirbhaya Day – December 16.
- Nirbhaya Act came into force on – April 3, 2013.
- Dowry Prohibition Act was enacted on – July 1, 1961.
- Domestic Violence Act was enacted on – October 26, 2006.
- International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women – November 25.
- Online portal for women empowerment – ‘NARI’ (National Repository of Information for Women).
- Union Minister of Women & Child Development – Annpurna Devi.
- Ministry of Women & Child Development came into existence on – January 30, 2006.
- Headquarters – Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi.
- Earlier it was Dept. of Women & Child Development under Ministry of Human Resource Development since 1985.
- "The year for the empowerment of women" declared by the Government of India in – 2001.
- Author of 'A Vindication of the Rights of Woman' – Mary Wollstonecraft (considered as the first feminist of Britain).
Thanks for reading!!!
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