Posts of chairpersons, members of state women commissions of Raj, MP lying vacant since 2018: NCW

The posts of chairpersons and members of women commissions have been lying vacant in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh since 2018, the NCW has said.

The state women commissions play an important role in addressing complaints related to abuse and assault on women.

National Commission for Women chairperson Rekha Sharma said she has even written to chief ministers of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh but till now neither new chairpersons nor commission members have been selected.

In the letters accessed by PTI, Sharma told Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot that it is "perturbing to see that the state women commission has not been constituted afresh".

"The state women commission plays an important role in improving the status and dignity of women in society, investigate into practices derogatory to women and suggest suitable remedial measures, effectively monitor implementation of laws affecting women," Sharma said in the letters to Gehlot and Nath.

The state women commissions also advise the government on all matters related to improvement and uplift of status and dignity of women in society, she said.

Sharma requested the two chief ministers to expedite the reconstitution of the state commissions of the two states and also appoint chairperson and other members in interest of the women in the two states.

Speaking to PTI, Sharma said the posts have been lying vacant since the new governments were formed in 2018.

"There is a provision but governments have not reconstituted the commission," she said.

"We have been directly dealing with cases from the state. I have also written to chief secretaries that you need to reconstitute these commissions soon but they have not done anything on that," she said.

A senior official said the reconstitution of the state commissions is completely a state matter and though the Centre can urge states for selecting members, the power for reconstituting these committee lies with state governments.

According to official data, 126 complaints of rape and attempt to rape have been received by the NCW from Rajasthan in the time period from 2018 till July, 2019 while in the same time period the number of such complaints received from Madhya Pradesh stands at 44.