The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Statutory status must for Tamil Nadu women's panel: Vasanthi Devi

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 08, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Statutory status must for Tamil Nadu women's panel: Vasanthi Devi

By Ramya Kannan

CHENNAI, MARCH 7. Statutory status and enhanced financial powers were essential for the Tamil Nadu State Commission for Women (SCW) to fulfil its mandate, the outgoing chairperson Vasanthi Devi, said on the eve of International Women's Day.

Dr. Vasanthi Devi, who will lay down office on March 8, told The Hindu that "a lot remains to be done. With statutory status and allocation of financial resources, on a par with the State Commissions of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra, much more can be achieved."

"The Commission is meant to be an alternative conflict resolution mechanism, especially for women who are hesitant or cannot go to court." However, without these resources at its disposal, the critical component in effecting justice remained the official machinery.

Reminiscing about her journey as chairperson, she said it had been "a period of expansion, experimentation and new initiatives."

Dr. Vasanthi Devi, who served as the Vice-Chancellor of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, took over from Padmini Jesudurai on March 8, 2002. Then she saw it as an opportunity to handle cases of denial of justice, domestic and caste violence on women and the effect modernisation and globalisation had on women, already marginalised by consistent traditional oppression. The Commission, she knew, could take up individual issues of denial of justice, but she hoped that it could address the issues on a larger plane too.

Over the years, she believes the Commission has become more visible in the State and the country, and consequently, the demands on it have registered a quantum jump, evident in the increase in the number of petitions: from 110 in 2001 to 850 in 2004. Also it is indicative of the accessibility and responsiveness of the Commission.

Public hearings

Another role the Commission undertook was conducting public hearings to address the grievances of women and children. While the response from the District Collectors and the police had been improving considerably, it remained uneven and sometimes delayed, she said.

Establishing networks with civil society organisations helped in taking the Commission to remote areas. More petitions came from some districts, little or none from others. If the flow had been consistent, it probably indicated the presence of strong non-governmental organisations, but it did not mean that violence was non-existent in areas from where there were no complaints.

Dr.Vasanthi Devi hopes to launch a movement to fight for the right to education.

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