WPC to march to Parliament for 33% reservation

New Delhi, May 7 : In an attempt to ''build pressure'' on the UPA Government to introduce the Women's Reservation Bill in the Monsoon Session of Parliament, the Women Power Connect (WPC), a federation of over 300 women's groups, along with members of other organisations, will march to Parliament to press for their demand.

''The UPA Government lacks commitment towards providing 33 per cent reservation to women. It has no Bill on reservation to present in Parliament,'' WPC president Ranjana Kumari said after the conclusion of a two-day national convention on 'Legislative Coordination and Action on Women's Issues'.

Dr Ranjana Kumari said the Government must also make stringent provisions in the law to check crime against women.

''The UPA has not fulfilled the promises of the Common Minimum Programme regarding women. We hope that the government accepts our demands now,'' she added.

She said the date for the march will be announced later after consultations with other organisations.

Dr Ranjana Kumari said the objective of the convention, organised by the Centre for Social Research (CSR), was to consult with various stakeholders such as the government, academicians and women's groups to arrive at a consensus for an Action Plan on key issues affecting women's empowerment.

The issues included implementation of the Domestic Violence Act 2005, 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament, the passage of the Sexual Harassment Bill, gender-just budgeting and the problem of declining girl child ratio in the country.

About 33 per cent reservation for women, Dr Ranjana Kumari, who is also the CSR Director, said there is need to work closely with political leaders, the media and the administration with the aim of getting the Bill passed in Parliament.

''Creating consensus among major political parties is one of the major challenges being faced in this regard. Women organisations will not hesitate to come on the roads for implementation of this bill,'' she added.

The CSR Director said while the Bill on the declining girl child sex ratio has been passed there are gaps in its implementation.

''We aim to review the implementation of the Act along with experts and women's groups to identify these gaps. Efforts would be made to ensure that effective mechanisms are set up for implementation and enforcement of the Act, so that offenders are booked.'' About the implementation of the Domestic Violence Act, she said a significant development in the women's movement has been the passage of the Bill last year and the promulgation of the Act on Domestic Violence.

''We will continue our efforts to ensure speedy and effective implementation of the Act by working closely with the Central and State Governments,'' she said ''The main action points in this regard would be to focus on getting the rules and regulations framed under the Act expeditiously, to ensure adequate allocation of resources, creating awareness about the Act and capacity building and training of administrative staff for its implementation''.

The WPC would also urge its members in the States to take up the issue with their respective State Governments.

The Centre has issued a circular on setting up Gender just budgeting cells in every Ministry to monitor the allocation of funds to women, she said.

''We will work towards establishing a system in the Government for adequate allocation of funds in development schemes for women.

This would envisage setting up of monitoring systems so that funds under these schemes reach the poorest and most needy women.'' Dr Ranjana Kumari said the WPC would lobby with Government to get the Sexual Harassment Bill passed in Parliament.

''The focus would be on arriving at an appropriate definition of sexual harassment and initiating an information and awareness generating campaign on this issue.'' she added.

About 300 women group leaders and activists from across the country attended the convention.

UNI