NCW Chairperson chairs 5th monitoring committee meeting of Special Cells for Women in Srinagar

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], July 22 (ANI): The fifth Monitoring Committee meeting of Special Cells for Women within Police system, supported by the National Commission for Women and implemented by Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai was held today at Banquet Hall, Srinagar.

Chairperson, National Commission for Women, Rekha Sharma, chaired the meeting of the Committee constituted under “Violence Free Home – A Woman’s Right” project – demonstration of 22 pilot Special Cells for Women in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh located in all districts of both the UTs.

The NCW also took to its official X handle and said, “The fifth Monitoring Committee Meeting of Special Cells for Women was held on 22nd July 2024 in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, chaired by Rekha Sharma, Chairperson of the National Commission for Women. The meeting reviewed the progress of 22 pilot Special Cells for Women across Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

In another post, NCW said that Rekha Sharma met with the Director General of Police, Jammu and Kashmir, recommending the hiring of officers exclusively for crimes against women. “Discussions emphasized expanding Special Cells to reach out to women of far-flung areas using volunteers for legal rights awareness and sensitizing the police to handle women’s complaints effectively,” the post said.

While chairing the meeting, Rekha Sharma appreciated the work of Special Cells in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh and invited the representatives from each department to share their work progress and challenges regarding their work on violence against women. She emphasized on increasing the outreach of Special Cells on ground to reach maximum survivors of violence.

Further, the Chairperson had a detailed discussion on proposal of institutionalisation of Special Cells for Women, Jammu and Kashmir with Commissioner Secretary, Social Welfare Sheetal Nanda.

The members of the Committee suggested that there is a need for further sensitization of Police and other departments on gender-related issues.

During the meeting, work progress on Special Cells for Women of both the UTs from January 1 to June 30, 2024, was presented by Balwant Singh, Coordinator, RCI-VAW, TISS to the committee. He also highlighted the measures initiated by the social workers on the ground for effective functioning of the Special Cells in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. During this period, the Special Cells have reached out to 2192 women survivors of violence to provide psycho-social support.