Dear All, In response to Chetan's message, I wish to point out that the National Commission for Women (NCW) has also like other groups, come out with its fact finding report. What remains to be seen is the action that NCW can and should take on its report.
The NCW in its report has reminded us of the NCW mandate, the Constitution of India, CEDAW, and other international conventions. The team visited several relief camps, and interacted with several ministers and govt. functionaries and concluded that women and children have been affected. While it does not submit in clear words that police have actively taken part in perpetrating the crimes against women, the report does say that the confidence of the women in the police is totally lost. The report also acknowledges the insecurity felt by the several NGOs and activists working in the relief camps. But the commission found no role beyond this lame report. Now is the time for the commission to act and prove that it exists for serious and sincere commitment to the women of India. The Chairperson needs to take a proactive role and chalk out concrete plans of action to be made real, otherwise lets all demand its abolition. Leena Prasad Lawyers Collective, Women's Rights Initiative (WRI) Delhi [EMAIL PROTECTED] Chetan Sharma <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >Given the fact that the data on crimes against women has not been >systematically collected, it is impossible to ascertain the extent of the >outrage. The crimes against women have been grossly under-reported. It has >been strange that the National Commission for Women, mandated as the apex >body for protection of the Indian women's rights guaranteed under the >Constitution of India, did not visit Gujarat during the recent violence. >This raises concerns regarding the understanding and commitment of the >institutions responsible for protecting women from violence. The District >Collector of Panchmahals District of Gujarat told a team investigating the >cases of violence against women: "Maintaining law and order is my primary >concern. It is not possible to for me to look into cases of sexual >violence. If something is brought to my notice, I can take action, but >nothing more than that?" > >During our visits to the camps, we were besieged with detailed testimonies >from rape victims and eyewitnesses, both activists and family members who >witnessed the crime. In the short time, the team at Halol camp >(Panchmahals) we got information about four incidents of rape. We also saw >video footage where women spoke of witnessing rapes. > ***End-violence is sponsored by UNIFEM and receives generous support from ICAP*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe end-violence OR type: unsubscribe end-violence Archives of previous End-violence messages can be found at: http://www.edc.org/GLG/end-violence/hypermail/
