Days after its historic passage in both houses of the Parliament, the Women’s Reservation Bill received the nod of President Droupadi Murmu on 29 September. With this, the legislation has now become a law. The Government of India, in a gazette notification, stated that the Bill has become an Act following the approval granted by the President. “It shall come into force on such date as the central government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint,” it said. Officially known as Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, the law proposes to reserve one-third of the seats in Lok Sabha and all state assemblies for women. The legislation cleared the Lok Sabha hurdle on 20 September, with 454 MPs voting in its favour and two voting against it, demanding a sub-quota for women belonging to the Other Backward Class (OBC) and minority communities. The Bill was passed unanimously in the Rajya Sabha on 21 September with 214 MPs voting in its favour.
A look at a few recently launched schemes once again shows how women-oriented promises take centre stage, several of which are detailed in the Ministry of Women and Child Development’s Annual Report for 2022-23.
SAFETY AND SECURITY
Sambal Schemes: 1) one Stop Centres (oSCs), provide integrated services like legal counselling and help, psycho-social counselling and support, providing information about help and facilities available for women etc., under one roof. 2) Women Helpline, an emergency/non-emergency response system on a toll-free telephonic short code that is being integrated with ERSS and other existing helplines/ institutions, 3) Beti Bachao Beti padhao (BBBp), is the main initiative for behavioural and mindset change. It has been expanded to cover all districts of the nation. 4) Nari Adalat, a new sub-component for providing women with an alternate grievance redressal mechanism for resolving cases of petty nature such as harassment, subversion, curtailment of rights or entitlements etc.
EMPOWERMENT
Samarthya Schemes: 1) Shakti Sadans, are integrated relief and rehabilitation homes for women victims of trafficking and destitute women. 2) Sakhi Niwas, to provide safe and secure places for working women in the cities and the areas having job potential. 3) Palna Ghar (Creches) provide safe and secure places for children of working women, so as to encourage and enhance female labourforce participation. 4) pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (pMMVY), compensates for the loss of wages due to pregnancy and childbirth and promotes health-seeking behaviour. Earlier schemes used to cover only one child, now benefits will be given for a second child also if the child is a girl child.
EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION
A National Hub for Empowerment of Women (NHEW), State Hubs for Empowerment of Women (SHEW), and District Hubs for Empowerment of Women (DHEW) were envisaged by the Ministry for drilling down effective delivery, monitoring and feedback. At the national level, the “Centre of Excellence for Women” will act as a repository of knowledge and facilitate research in the field of women empowerment and child welfare and monitoring for Gender Budgeting will be part of NHEW. According to the Annual report: “Till 31.01.2023, funds have been released to 12 States and Union Territories for the establishment of HEWs at State and District levels.”
ACROSS INDIA
Over the years, several welfare schemes for women have been announced by different governments. For instance, the Delhi government launched free bus rides for women in the national capital in order to fulfil one of its promises. Conductors distribute pink tickets having a face value of ₹10 each to women passengers for free travel on DTC buses. Under a similar scheme in Karnataka, “Shakti”, women have the provision of travelling free in non-premium buses of the state-run road transport corporations. In Bengal, the Kanyashree programme by CM Mamata Banerjee to provide scholarships to female students attracted a lot of attention. After coming to power in the recent Karnataka Assembly elections, the Congress launched the “Gruha Lakshmi” scheme, offering a monthly assistance of ` 2,000 to about 1.1 crore women who are heads of their households.
Recently launched schemes across India
Madhya Pradesh
Mukhyamantri Ladli Behna Scheme, June 2023
Ladli Laxmi 2.0 (financial assistance), November 2022
Rajasthan
Indira Gandhi Free Smartphone Yojana, August 2023
Chhattisgarh
State Women Entrepreneurship Policy 2023-28, April 2023
Kaushalya Matritva Yojana, March 2022
Telangana
Special nutrition kit scheme for pregnant women, December 2022
Nutrition kit scheme for women, June 2017