The Government has set up a High Level Committee on the status of women to undertake comprehensive study to understand the status of women since 1989 as well as to evolve appropriate policy interventions based on a contemporary assessment of women’s needs.
The Committee has the following members
i. | Justice Ruma Pal | Chairperson |
ii. | Prof. Bina Agarwal | Member |
iii. | Dr. Amita Singh | Member |
iv. | Dr. Pam Rajput | Member |
v. | Ms. Rita Sarin | Member |
vi. | Dr. Manorma Singh | Member |
vii. | Dr. Shantha Krishnan | Member |
viii. | Dr. Nirmala Devi | Member |
ix. | Ms. Manira A Pinto | Member |
x. | Smt. Vijayluxmi Kol. | Member |
xi. | Ms. Pratima Thami | Member |
xii. | Mrs. Suman Kumar | Member |
xiii. | Mrs. Anusuiya Sharma | Member |
xiv. | Dr. Simrit Kaur | Member |
xv. | Smt. Deepa Jain Singh | Member Secretary |
The Terms of Reference of the above High Level Committee (HLC) are as follows:-
(i) The HLC will conduct an intensive literature survey to take stock of published data, reports, articles and research from about 1989 onwards, on the status of women in India.
(ii) The HLC will prepare a Report on the current socio-economic, political and legal status of women in India. The Report will also bring out the interconnectedness of these aspects in terms of their impact on women and recommend measures for holistic empowerment of women.
(iii) The HLC will examine the overall status of women including, inter-alia, the socio-economic, health and nutritional, legal and political status, disaggregated by rural/urban, economic and social position (e.g. APL/BPL, SC/ST, single women, disabled women, migrant women) and wherever possible by minority status (e.g. muslims/others). The analysis would take account of cross-regional differences and focus on inequalities both within and outside the household. It would also assess the impact made by existing policies and legislative changes on equality, security and holistic empowerment of women, and will identify inequalities in policy and legislation as well as gaps in implementation.
The HLC will, inter-alia, also examine:
(i) women’s access to and participation in formal and informal paid employment; emerging areas of participation, geographical pattern of their economic activity, unpaid work/ care economy, etc.
(ii) Access to micro-finance, bank credit, training and skill Upgradation, marketing etc. and constraints on increase in productivity.
This was stated by the Minister for Women and Child Development, Smt. Krishna Tirath, in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.
