The constitutional commissions of the country are toothless. Even in such a situation, the functionaries of the Commission, by behaving like politicians, reduce the dignity of the Commission and become an object of ridicule. The State Women’s Commission of Uttar Pradesh has reduced its importance by doing similar acts. The commission made a recommendation to the Yogi government. It mentions ban on taking measurements of women’s clothes by male tailors in the state, installation of CCTV cameras in coaching centers and installation of female trainers in gyms. Keeping in view the safety of women, the Commission has sent this proposal. This action of the Commission shows that the Commission is deviating from its basic objective and is engaged in political maneuvering. The Commission is not concerned with improving the crime, economic and educational conditions of women in Uttar Pradesh.
This recommendation of the commission is now awaiting approval from the government. The present condition of law and order in the state is not mentioned in this proposal of the Commission. The Commission also did not say whether the provisions made in the recommendation were responsible for crimes against women. The Commission did not say even a single line on the modalities of police action after crimes. The Commission remained silent on the permanent deployment of women police personnel to prevent incidents of molestation near girls’ educational institutions. The Women’s Commission also did not tell how the arrangements would be made for such a large number of trained women in the state. Is the government capable of arranging training for women for this? There is no mention in the Commission’s recommendation on how women will be provided loans and space for self-employment after training. The Women’s Commission of Uttar Pradesh, which is concerned about the safety of women, forgot that the public transport system of the state is in a state of disrepair. Women have to face a lot of difficulties in vehicles jam-packed with passengers. There is no separate transport system for women in the state. Women have to work hard even on reserved seats. Harassment of women in public transport is common. The attention of the Women’s Commission, which advocates women’s interests, did not reach here. Similarly, there are not enough doctors and hospitals to deal with women’s diseases and maternity conditions.
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The Commission did not emphasize the need for adequate number of women in police stations and women police stations. Even today it is not easy for women to go to police stations and lodge complaints. How policemen treat victimized women is not hidden from anyone. There is no doubt that the Yogi government in Uttar Pradesh left no stone unturned in defeating the mafia and gangsters. Almost all the big mafia and gangsters from the state have either been killed or are in jail. Despite this, it cannot be said that the functioning of the police has improved for the common people. Incidents of corruption and discrimination are common in the police.
The Commission ignored all these issues. It is surprising that the Commission, which advocated the appointment of women in business establishments and shops, could not take active action against crimes against women in the state. Hathras and Unnao incident is an example of this. The Commission played no role in preventing such crimes. On September 14, 2020, a Dalit girl was gang-raped by four men in Hathras. Similarly, on June 4, 2017, a 17-year-old girl was gang-raped in Unnao. The girl died in this. The Commission could not give any concrete suggestions to the state government on such issues. Five states have the highest number of child laborers in India. Most of the child laborers are from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. There are 21.5 percent i.e. 21.80 lakh child laborers in Uttar Pradesh and 10.7 percent i.e. 10.9 lakh child laborers in Bihar. The number of child laborers in Uttar Pradesh is 21.7 lakh. This is 21 percent of the total population of UP. Although this issue does not directly come under the Women’s Commission, then how can a woman get a wage from a piece of her heart? The Women’s Commission never considered this.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, Uttar Pradesh topped the country in the total number of crimes against women (such as rape, murder, kidnapping, murder after rape and gang rape) in 2022. In this, 65,743 such cases were registered. In the name of women’s safety, when Yogi Adityanath took over the reins of the state in 2017, he formed an “Anti-Romeo Squad” to stop public harassment of women. Later his government, in the name of empowering and protecting women, enacted the Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, better known as the anti-love-jihad law.
Crime statistics bear witness to the fact that even after these laws were made, there was not much improvement in crimes against women. It was never reviewed by the State Women Commission. It is worth noting that the Commission has the right to call only by giving notice, but not the right to take action. The Commission never raised its voice even for this right. This clearly shows that the Commission’s claim of recommending safety of women is hollow. Far from the situation on the ground, such recommendations are nothing more than mere headlines.
– Yogendra Yogi
