Maneka Gandhi bats for women
Source: The Sangai Express

Chandigarh, October 18 2016: The Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Sanjay Gandhi while addressing the regional editors' conference held at Chandigarh said various schemes and programmes have been launched to take care of underprivileged women and children.

She stated that a new legislation under the nomenclature Anti-Trafficking Bill would be brought out for rescue, relief and reintegration of trafficked women and children.

Preparation of the Bill is almost complete and it would be introduced in the coming session of the Parliament, she said.

Maneka Gandhi bats for women

Government of India received missing reports of at least 4 lakh women and children in one single year.

Hence the need for legislation to take care of them.

Mobile Panic Button system would be started from January next year.

A girl child or a woman in anticipation could press the button on the mobile phone and she would receive help from the nearest police station.

A new mobile apps would also be introduced through which a girl or woman could seek help from anyone nearby to rescue them, said Maneka.

One-Stop Centre where legal aid, medical aid, police assistance, psychological counselling and temporary shelter would be made available to any distressed woman and child had been opened.

The first centre was started at Raipur, Chattisgarh on July 15 last year.

Such centres would be opened through out the country in all the districts.

The Government of India was contemplating to introduce 33 per cent reservation for women in police force.

At least three Union Territories and seven States of the country had shown their willingness to start the scheme.

11 more States had said they were also ready to start the scheme, Maneka told the gathering.

The Minister was reminded of the need for strengthening women commissions by providing more teeth to take care of distressed women.

She was told that the vacant posts were filled up by political appointees.

In reply, she stated that the matter was being considered at the Cabinet level but the desired result was yet to be achieved.

She announced she would visit Manipur in the early part of November to have a feel of the problems facing Manipuri women.

She said NGOs who are dealing with distressed women and children would continue to receive financial help from her Ministry.

She informed that more than 800 applications to start NGOs to provide help to women and children were received from Manipur alone but 50 percent of them turned out to be fake and UG related groups.