M A I N   N E W S

Haryana women panel a toothless tiger
Geetanjali Gayatri/TNS

Chandigarh, October 2
In a state where women often find themselves at the receiving end, the Commission for Women in Haryana is also no more than a toothless tiger that has been living off “borrowed teeth” in the hope that it will grow its own dentition some day. That’s probably why its roar seems worse than its bite.

Little wonder then, the commission, despite several gang-rapes and frequent khap diktats, usually limits itself to issuing statements by its two-member army comprising the chairperson and the vice-chairperson. That done, the “disappearing” act comes into play and eventually the commission slips into “hibernation mode”.

The rapping received by the commission from the National Commission for Women for failing to pass on information of the goings-on in Haryana notwithstanding, the “army” has not got its other members on board so far.

The four others on the panel, Raj Bala, Santosh Sharma, Yashwanti Jyani and Parvesh Rana, appointed in March 2011, exist only on paper. They are all without work and awaiting an “opportunity” to serve the cause they have been chosen for.

Since their appointment, the full commission has reportedly met only once and there has been no meeting since then.

“So many cases of atrocities of women keep taking place in Haryana. In the recent past, the Gopal Kanda case was so much in the public eye. The rising incidents of gang-rape, dowry deaths and gotra rows have rocked Haryana. However, members of the commission have remained mute spectators because they have not been allocated any work,” a member said.

Instead of stepping in and pressing for justice for victims, they sit in their homes and watch stories unfold on the screen.

“The government certainly did not appoint us as members to carry the tag and be happy. We want to make a difference, but can’t. I have been personally in touch with the commission’s office and have asked repeatedly that a meeting be convened, but to no avail. Everybody seems just too occupied to bother about holding a meeting on the issues the women of Haryana are facing today,” another member said.

Meanwhile, Chandra Prabha, vice-chairperson of the commission, claimed there were no funds available to hold meetings or call members. “They have no vehicles to go visiting and we don’t have funds to pay them any daily allowance yet. Keeping this in mind, no work has been allotted to them so far. With the Vidhan Sabha passing an Act, we will get funds and thus be able to assign work to them. As of now, we haven’t even got terms and conditions of the Act,” she claimed.

The vice-chairperson clarified that the commission was doing its job to the best of its ability and that the rap from the National Commission for Women was not justified.

“We got information of the recent cases from the media and acted on them. They were free to do the same. Also, nobody said a word to us. So, we don’t really know how far that it is true,” she said.

CASH CRIPPLE

• The entire commission has reportedly met only once since their appointment and there has been no meeting thereafter
• Four out of six members of the panel have not been assigned any work so far
• The chairperson and the vice-chairperson also limit themselves to only making statements whenever any incident of atrocities on women is reported