High Time Odisha Govt disbands Toothless Women Commission

ONI Bureau: In order to divert the attention from Government’s failure, mess created by the Crime Branch in Kunduli case and put the BJP in a fix, there was an attempt to target the State Mahila Commission. And, it worked well…

The BJP, which always shied away from targeting the Mahila Commission for obvious reasons, fell into the trap and had no option but to resort to protests and demonstration. They even vandalised the State Women Commission’s office, drawing the ire of cops. Never before such things happened. But, will it work?

Protests, demonstration, criticism are fine. But, do we really expect the Women Commission to deliver justice? Does it have any power to fight the cases and take things to logical conclusion? If we see the history of Mahila Commission in Odisha, they always failed to raise their voice, as they were never allowed to work independently.

It’s not about one political party. It’s about the entire system. Any Mahila Commission is affiliated to the political leaders and party and they do what the government wants them to do. There is no exception. And, what powers do Women Commissions have?

The State Commission for Women (SCW) is nothing but a statutory body of the State Government, concerned with advising the government on all policy matters affecting women. They can just probe the incidents and atrocities against women and then advise the government, but can’t force either the police or administration to take action. The District Administration and Police have more power than those bodies.

Can the Women Commission go against the State Government if things go wrong? Absolutely Not! It’s post of political rehabilitation like many others and they will do what the state government wants them to. So, why the Women Commission? Going to Human Rights Commission is a far better option than going to Women Commission. However, expect them to give solid advice to government when there are serious allegations against rival parties or leaders…

They might help in cases related to dowry torture, betrayal in love and marital discord. But, even TV channels and Human Rights Activists are doing a much better job then the OSCW by forcing the cops and administration act. A look at the website of Odisha State Commission for Women gives such an impression. Only 11 cases are listed in the ‘Success Stories’ section and all fall into the same categories which we discussed above. There has been no such instance when they took up the cases of rape/murder victims and ensured justice.

The Statistics section has been silent since 2014. The 2015 data is incomplete, forget about 2016 and 2017. The failure of State Commission for Women, lies with the State Government only. While the Chairperson is the obvious target, the Chief Minister and Women & Child Development Minister have to answer more than the Chairperson, who is just an employee of the State Government.

It’s high time we disband such Toothless bodies in the state and allow the Rights Activists and Social Organization to act as a Pressure Group to the Police and Administration.