NEW DELHI: The National Commission for Women (NCW) is in the process of drafting a rehabilitation package for `devdasis' serving in the temples of eastern and southern States.

"We are interacting with the `devdasis' to draft a rehabilitation package for them," NCW chairperson Girija Vyas told reporters here on Tuesday.

The Commission is studying the rehabilitation packages already in existence in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka but the preference is for the Maharashtra model, Ms. Vyas said.

The NCW has formulated an exhaustive rehabilitation package for rape victims and will push for the passage of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill in the coming session of Parliament. The proposed Bill seeks to enlarge the definition of rape. It also calls for more severe punishment for rape besides seeking to delete section 377 of the IPC that criminalises homosexuality by describing it as a "blatant violation of human rights."

The Commission is launching a massive awareness campaign for rural women to empower them. This is being done to enable them to become aware of their legal rights, inform them about various Central and State Government schemes for their social and economic uplift, and gain access to free legal aid.

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