The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Minister moots ‘Mahila Courts’

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Saturday, Jul 04, 2009
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Minister moots ‘Mahila Courts’

Special Correspondent

Says they can be located in all district court complexes

Toll-free number for women to seek help sought
Home Minister for counselling from village level

Photo: G. Krishnaswamy

WOMEN’S ISSUES: Chaya Ratan, Principal Secretary for Women and Child Development (left), Konda Surekha, Minister for Women and Child Development (centre) and Sabitha Indra Reddy, Minister for Home, at a workshop in Hyderabad on Friday.

HYDERABAD: Minister for Women and Child Welfare Konda Surekha on Friday mooted the idea of having a separate ‘Mahila Court’ attached to the Courts Complex in every district, to try all cases of atrocities on women and children.

Addressing a gathering of representatives from over a 100 voluntary agencies at a workshop on ‘Women & Child concerns - A way forward’, she expressed concern at the increasing number of attacks on women and children. She said voluntary agencies and the Home and Woman and Child Welfare Departments needed to work in tandem. She also wanted a toll-free number for a woman to dial and seek assistance, screening committees at the mandal, district and State-level to help analyse cases and a full-fledged woman police station and help wing in every district.

Home Minister Sabita Indra Reddy said that in almost every case the police needed the cooperation of the general public at large and voluntary agencies. Also, since several situations that a woman faced could be sorted out with discussion, a counselling system from the village-level upwards needed to be put in place. This way, woman need not knock on the doors of the police station every time they have a problem, the Minister said, adding that it would also lessen the burden of the police.

Expressing concern over the increasing use of acid in attacks on women, she said that while it usually was a result of a moment’s rage for the man, it meant a lifetime’s physical and mental agony for the woman. Advocating stringent punishment for offenders who used acid, on par with murder, she said even possession of acid by people needed to be monitored.

Additional DGP-CID, A. Sivanarayana said it was important for a meaningful dialogue to discuss various problems faced by women and children in society and to review implementation of existing laws.

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