Fire and Rescue Services Director General B. Sandhya stole the show as the maiden speaker at the Women’s Parliament in Kozhikode on Sunday, outlining a set of changes to be effected in the police force to ensure gender justice and women’s safety.
The parliament was jointly organised by the National Women’s Commission and the State Women’s Commission ahead of International Women’s Day.
Her first suggestion was to considerably improve the woman workforce in the police, which is just 10% at present, to 50%. “Women should feel free to visit police stations at any hour of the day. We must ensure the safety of women, and a better presence of woman officers is a step towards that,” she said.
Inaugurating the parliament earlier, Minister for Women and Child Welfare Veena George too stressed the need for more women in the police force and said that the intake of women would be increased.
Ms. Sandhya said gender sensitisation for the whole police force was the need of the hour. She added that witness protection laws had been underutilised and would come in handy in sensitive cases.
“We have no provision to record a ‘victim impact statement’. It could be included in the Criminal Procedure Code, and the Women’s Commission could recommend it,” she said, pointing out the need for ‘one stop crisis centres’ as in Maharashtra.
Ms. Sandhya also dwelt on in-camera trials, which are held in closed rooms. “This gives the defence a chance to traumatise the victim further, especially since the proceedings are not visually recorded. There should be an arrangement for victims to be part of such trials without actually being present in the room,” she said.
She suggested that a system of filing complaints online through the nearest Janasevana Kendra could be considered to save victims a harrowing trip to police stations and avoid jurisdictional issues.
Speaking on ‘Women in Politics’, former MP C.S. Sujatha urged the younger generation to take up politics to wipe out the patriarchal notion that it was not a woman’s cup of tea.
Director of Women and Child Welfare Department T.V. Anupama explained the various government projects for woman empowerment, while scribe Sithara Paul spoke on ‘Women in Media’ and world boxing champion K.C. Lekha on ‘Women’s Presence in Sports’.
A. Parvathi Menon, standing counsel at the Kerala High Court, gave a feminist view of the existing laws. Anjali Menon spoke on ‘Women in Cinema’, while B.M. Suhara spoke on ‘Women in Literature’.
Women’s Commission Chairperson P. Sathi Devi and members Shahida Kamal, M.S. Thara, and Shiji Shivaji were part of the presidium.
An exhibition of photographs showing woman power by noted photographers and street plays were part of the parliament. Several women were honoured and Women’s Commission media awards were given away.
