Proper Rehabilitation of Distressed Women in North East

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Women and Child Development
27-March, 2018 16:06 IST
Skill Development Equally Important for Proper Rehabilitation of Distressed Women: Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi

Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, Union Minister of Women and Child Development co-chaired a review meeting with Smt.Tulshi Devi Rai, Minister for Social Justice, Empowerment and Welfare Department, Government of Sikkim, at the Manan Kendra, Gangtok today. The meeting was aimed at discussing the centre and the state’s shared vision and strategy around the promotion of improved gender diversity across various sectors in Sikkim.

In her keynote address, Union Minister Smt Gandhi commended Sikkim’s achievements in terms of removing gender disparity. Lauding the ‘Unmarried Women’s Pension Scheme’ adopted by the state of Sikkim, the Union Minister said that she has proposed a similar initiative to be adopted at the central level. Outlining the central government’s commitment to forging an inclusive society by advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment, Smt Gandhi elucidated the achievements made by the central government in bridging the gender gap in various sectors and the society at large. She said that the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ campaign has been one of the most successful initiatives of the Government.

The Union Minister emphasized that it is not enough to merely rescue women from all forms of harassment but it is equally important to encourage skill development in order to promote entrepreneurship among women. She cited the Beti Bakery' project initiated by Chhattisgarh Government for trafficking survivors as an example.

Smt Gandhi also talked at length about the proposed Anti-Trafficking Bill saying that the proposed law will change the entire dialogue around trafficking as it seeks to penalise the perpetrators and not the victims as has been under prevailing laws.

Furthermore, the Union Minister assured the government of Sikkim that all pending payments towards funds allocated for the implementation of welfare schemes in Sikkim will be released within a week. She also said the centre would extend all possible support in setting up of another Working Women’s Hostel in the state.

The meeting was attended by high-ranking officials of Social Justice, Empowerment and Welfare Department, Government of Sikkim, officials and workers involved in the implementation of centrally-sponsored women and child development schemes, members of NGO, school children and members of the press.

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[Hindustani78]

The Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi chairing a meeting with the Anganwadi workers and other women and child development functionaries, at Manan Kendra, in Gangtok on March 27, 2018. The Minister, Women and Child Development, Social Justice and Empowerment Department, Sikkim Smt. Tulsi Devi is also seen.

The Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi addressing the Anganwadi workers and other women and child development functionaries, at Manan Kendra, in Gangtok on March 27, 2018. The Minister, Women and Child Development, Social Justice and Empowerment Department, Sikkim Smt. Tulsi Devi is also seen.

 

[Hindustani78]

https://www.hindustantimes.com/indi...adeshi-turn/story-oE7susRVIi6n01hj1KnFyM.html

The gang rape and murder of a minor girl in Assam districts has opened up old wounds with many people blaming illegal immigrants for rising crimes in the state.

The incident has led to outrage across the state with large number of people, most of them women, coming out to the streets demanding death penalty to rapists. Others took to social media platforms to blame illegal immigrants for such incidents.

Illegal immigration is a sensitive issue in Assam. The state had witnessed a violent mass uprising between 1979 and 1985, which ended with signing of the Assam Accord to find a permanent solution.


“Hon’ble CM Sarbananda Sonowal ‘dangoriya’, what happened to BJP’s promise to throw out illegal immigrants after 16 May 2016? How many more crimes would they be allowed to inflict before the sleeping government wakes up,” chairman of Liberal Democratic Party, Prodyut Bora said on Twitter. ‘Dangoriya’ is an Assamese word used to address elders.

“They have crossed all limits and it’s high time the government and the police take steps to rein them as most of the crimes are committed by illegal migrants,” Deb told journalists on Sunday.

The issue led to furore inside the assembly on Monday with opposition Congress MLAs accusing the government of failing to safeguard women and girls and the ruling BJP trying to give a religious turn to the issue.

After being prodded by education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, parliamentary affairs minister Chandra Mohan Patowary revealed names of the accused in this incident and four other rape cases and many other rape cases—all of them belonging to the minority community.

Taking offence MLA Aminul Islam from the opposition All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) blamed the government of not revealing names of accused in some other recent rape cases—who belonged to other communities.

“A criminal is a criminal, and he or she can’t be categorised on the basis or caste, creed or religion,” Islam said.

As per National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) figures for 2016, Assam witnessed 1779 cases of rape of women and 821 cases of sexual offences, including rape, against minors.

Till 2017, the state government had been able to detect 90,206 illegal migrants. Only 29,738 of them have been pushed back or deported since 1985, when the accord was signed.

While more than 1,000 of them are staying in detention camps across Assam, police haven’t been able to trace others who disappeared mysteriously after being detected.

The state is in the process of updating the National Register of Citizens—last updated in 1951—in a bid to detect and weed out foreigners. But some feel the exercise could be futile as many of the illegal immigrants have been able to procure identity documents showing them as Indian citizens.

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The 12-year-old girl, a class V student, was allegedly gang-raped and set on fire by a 21-year-old and his two accomplices—both minors—on Friday. The victim succumbed to her injuries a day later.

The prime accused in the Nagaon incident, Zakir Hussain, a resident of the same village as the victim, was arrested on Monday morning. His two accomplices, both belonging to the minority community, were arrested earlier.

Popular singer Queen Hazarika, who has more than 22,000 followers on Twitter, also blamed “men ” for the rapes and rape attempts and said it “would be unfair to expect us Assamese not to react or utter the word ‘war crime’ no matter how racial it might make us look like”.

Two legislators from the ruling BJP, Shiladiyta Deb and Mrinal Saikia, also accused illegal migrants of committing a majority of the heinous crimes in the state.

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https://www.hindustantimes.com/indi...-affidavits/story-cdt70JcQsbggOslxaC04hN.html

The Supreme Court expressed shock on Tuesday when it learnt that Uttarakhand and West Bengal governments had named rape victims in their affidavits while providing details about money disbursed to complainants under the Nirbhaya fund.

This fund is a central scheme initiated after the brutal gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old paramedical student in New Delhi on December 16, 2012.

“Don’t you know that it’s a criminal offence to name rape victims? Are you just peons?” the top court asked lawyers of the two states during a hearing of a petition for a victim compensation scheme in cases of offences against women.

The lawyers responded that state officials had prepared the affidavits.

A bench of justices MB Lokur and Deepak Gupta summoned the officers who signed the affidavits —Ajay Rautela, additional home secretary of Uttarakhand, and Lalit Kumar Das, joint secretary at the ministry of women and child welfare in West Bengal. They will appear in court after three weeks.

The judges reminded the lawyers that they could be prosecuted for filing such affidavits. “How can you file affidavits without giving any thought or application of mind? This is a very serious offence. There is an earlier judgment of this court that says an advocate-on –record (AOR) will be held responsible for filing incorrect affidavits,” the bench said.

An AOR is a lawyer designated by the top court to officially file documents with the registry in a case.

According to Section 228A of the Indian Penal Code, anyone printing or publishing the name or any details that give away the identity of a rape victim or survivor can face a jail term of two years.

West Bengal gave the names of victims in its affidavit. Uttarakhand disclosed complete details, including names of their fathers, addresses and offences committed against them. Information regarding underage victims was also given in the Uttarakhand affidavit.

“The whole victim protection regime has become vulnerable,” said senior advocate Indira Jaising, the amicus curiae in the case.

The Supreme Court gave more time to Jaising and the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) to prepare a model compensation scheme. It gave the states a final chance to respond to a plan NALSA has put on its website.

UP plan praised

The top court appreciated the Yogi Adityanath-led government in Uttar Pradesh for envisaging a proper format to disburse compensation through the Nirbhaya Fund and asked NALSA to study the model before finalising its scheme on victim compensation.

According to the UP plan, the state gives an interim compensation to the rape victim immediately after an FIR is registered, the court noted. Further, money is disbursed once the charge sheet is filed and a final amount is given on conviction of the guilty.

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https://www.hindustantimes.com/indi...hal-pradesh/story-STMS4kEVVeojWdqClIqfZK.html

A similar incident took place in Upper Subansiri district in February when a group of people paraded the alleged rapist of an eight-year-old girl in Daporijo before handing him over to the police.
Updated: Mar 27, 2018 17:59 IST

Two alleged rapists of a 17-year-old girl were paraded naked with their hands tied on the streets by a mob before handing them over to the police in Arunachal Pradesh’s Upper Siang district, police said on Tuesday, the latest in a series of incidents of public outrage against rapes in the northeastern state.

Police said the incident took place in Yingkiong, the headquarters of Upper Siang district, on Monday as many people took their photos and made videos with their mobile phones.

“It seems the public did such a thing before handing the two to the police,” John Neihlaia, deputy inspector general of police (central range), said.

The senior official said the girl had befriended the boy over the phone and went out with him on Sunday when she was allegedly raped by him and three of his friends.

“The girl was dropped back at her home at 2am on Monday. Her parents lodged a complaint with the police in the morning. Meanwhile, the victim’s relatives and neighbours caught two of the accused and handed them over to the police,” Neihlaia added.

A search has been launched to nab the two other accused. All the four accused are in their early 20s.

A similar incident took place in Upper Subansiri district last month when a group of people paraded an alleged rapist of an eight-year-old girl on the streets of Daporijo before handing him over to the police.

A few days earlier to that, a mob of nearly 1,000 people stormed the police station in Tezu of Lohit district, freed two men allegedly involved in rape and murder of a five-year-old girl, and killed them in the town’s marketplace.

A day later, another mob of nearly 900 people ransacked the police station at Yingkiong, the headquarters of Upper Siang district, over shifting of an accused who had raped a five-year-old girl, to another district.