NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Introduction:
It is said that the best way to know about society, a civilisation and a
culture, try to know as much possible about the women. In India,
women have come a long way from the rare women scholars and
sages of the Vedic age to the women in different section of society and
civilization today, such as the armed forces, arts, information
technology, politics and a number of similar section which have
traditional been male dominated, while simultaneously balancing the
roles of wife, mother and daughter. While India women have fought
against the patriarchal India society and triumphed at many levels,
cases of rape, dowry deaths, female infanticide, sexual harassment at
workplaces, female illiteracy, and similar problem are still rampant in
India society. It was in this backdrop that the committee on the status
of women in India (CSWI) the establishment of the national
commission for women to full fill the surveillance functions and to
facilitate redressed of grievances and to accelerate the socio-
economic development of women.
The principle of gender equality is enshrined in the India constitution.
The preamble, promote of opportunist Equality of status and of
opportunity;
The fundamental rights enshrined in part III of the Indian constitution
and directive principles enshrined in part 4 of the constitution all
promote gender equality. The Constitution not only grants equality
Thus, as per the recommendations of the CSWI and in order to uphold
the mandate of the constitution, in January 1992 the national
commission for women (NCW), was set up as a statutory body under
the National Commission for Women Act, 1990(Act No.20 0f 1990 of
Government of India) to carry out the mandate set by the Act as well
as CSWI. About the commission.
 This chapter aims at informing the reader of the need for a
commission such as the national commission for women and the
impetus for its establishment in 1992. The chapter further examines
the relationship between the constitution and the commission, the
mandate given by the constitution as well as the basic administrative
set up of the commission as per the constitution.

Important of the commission:

Women as a class neither belong to a minority group nor are they

regarded as a backward class. India has traditionally been a patriarchal
society and therefore women have always suffered from social
handicaps and disabilities. It thus become necessary to take certain
ameliorative steps in order to improve the condition of women in the
traditional male dominated society. The constitution does not contain
any provision specially made to favour women as such. Though art. 15
(3), 21 and art. 14 are in favour of women; they are more general in
nature and provide for making any special provision for women, while
they are not in themselves such provisions. The Supreme Court
through interpretive processes has cases such tried to extend some
safeguards to women. Through judgments in cases such as
Bodhisattva Gautama v Subrachakraborty (AIR 1996 SC 922). And the
chairman Rly Board v. chandrima Das (AIR 2000 SC 988). Cases where
rape was declared a heinous crime as well as the landmark judgment
in visakha v. state of Rajasthan (AIR 1997 SC 3011). The courts have
tried to improve the social condition of Indian women. But these have
hardly sufficed to improve the position of women in India. Thus, in
light of these conditions the committee on the status of women (India)
as well as number of NGOs, social workers and experts, who were
consulted by the government in 1990 recommended the
establishment of an apex body for women.
The lack of constitutional machinery, judicial ability and social
interest formed
The impetus and need for the formation of the national commission
for women.
It is apparent from the prior mentioned condition and problem that
Women in India, though in a beer position than their ancestors, were
Handicapped to a great extant in the early 1990s and these
handicaps.
Injustices against Indian women prompted the Indian government to
constitute.
The first national commission for women in 1992.

The constitutional of the commission:

The national commission for women act, 1990 (act no. 20 of 1990 of
government of India) constituted the national commission for women
as a statutory body. The first commission was constituted on 31st
January 1992 with Mrs.Jayanti Pratnaik as the chairman.

The act of 1990 under section 3 provide for the constitution of the
commission. This section lays down that the constitution will consist
of one chairperson who is committed to the causes of women, five
member from various field and a member secretary who shall be an
expert in the fields of management, organisational structure,
sociological movement or a, member of the civil service of the union
. All the member of the commission are nominated by central
government.

Each person holds office for a period of five years or till he attains the
age of seventy at one member each of the commission must belong
to a scheduled caste or scheduled tribe. In addition to the
abovementioned member of the commission, the commission has the
power to set up committee’s member from outside the commission.

The Mandate of the commission:

Section 10 (1) of the act of 1990 provide a fourteen-point mandate for

the national commission for women a general overview of the
mandate has been provided and few significant clauses have been
discussed.

Broadly speaking the commission mandate can be divide under four

heads-(a) safeguard of rights of women granted by the constitution
and laws, (b) study problems faced by women in the current day and
make recommendations to eradicate these problems, (c) evaluating
the status of Indian women from time and (d) funding and fighting
cases related to women’s rights violations.