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Thursday, May 27, 2004

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National

Women's groups meet Sonia

By Aarti Dhar

Members of women's organisations talking to the media after meeting the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, in New Delhi on Wednesday. — PTI

NEW DELHI, MAY 26. The Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, has said there would be a sympathetic consideration of women's demands in the common minimum programme of the United Progressive Alliance.

The assurance came when a delegation of women, representing 18 national women's organisations, met her this morning to ensure inclusion of certain demands in the CMP, including the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill.

Talking to reporters, Mohini Giri of the Guild of Service said the Left parties had extended their support for the inclusion of the bill in the CMP while other partners of the alliance are also being approached.

The women's representatives will meet the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, and the Rashtriya Janata Dal chief, Laloo Prasad Yadav, who is opposed to the bill. But, with the RJD being an alliance partner, the women are hopeful that he could be impressed upon to extend support.

In a memorandum to Ms. Gandhi, the delegation said that it was a matter of deep concern that in the three drafts of the CMP that had been circulated, there was no mention of the Women's Reservation Bill and it amounted to betrayal of women's interests.

Suggesting that the section on women in the draft CMP was "vague and very generalised," it said women were looking for a concrete commitment from her Government.

Presenting their mini CMP to Ms. Gandhi, the women's groups wanted a firm commitment to the passage of the Reservation Bill that has been hanging fire for the past decade, passage of the Protection Against Domestic Violence Bill with amendments suggested by the women's organisations and implementation of the various recommendations of the Law Commission to reform laws concerning women.

Universalisation of the Public Distribution System, giving land ownership rights to women and special work schemes for poor women in rural and urban areas, implementation of the non-coercive, non-targeted National Population Policy as opposed to the coercive anti-women policies in place in many States and strict implementation of the laws of sex selection and sex determination techniques and tests were other issues raised by the women's groups.

Importantly, the women demanded an end to licensing for liquor vends as a revenue source and a comprehensive liquor policy taking into account the concerns of women.

"We assert that any CMP that seeks to provide the basis for pro-people governance must necessarily work out concrete measures for the advancement of women, without which it will surely be inadequate and incomplete,'' the delegation members told reporters here today.

The National Commission for Women has sent a charter to the Prime Minister seeking a better deal for women, which it believes could partly be achieved by the passage of the bill.

The organisations that extended support to the demands are the Guild of Service, All-India Democratic Women's Association, All-India Women's Conference, National Federation of Indian Women, Joint Women's Program, Young Women's Christian Association, Muslim Women's Forum, Delhi Commission for Women, Stop Trafficking and Oppression of Children and Women, All-India Trade Union Congress, War Widows Association, Centre for Social Change and Innovation, Women's Study Centre, Lawyer's Collective, Women's Rights Initiative, Women's Initiative for Peace in South Asia and All-India Bandhua Mazdoor Sangh.

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