The Delhi Commission for Women has emerged as the first port of call for women in distress. Under the chairpersonship of Swati Maliwal, this 'Mahila Aayog' is like none other in the country.
At GDi's Icons of Nationbuilding event, held at the India International Centre on April 7, Swati Maliwal spoke up on the need to rethink concepts of gender governance in India. The DCW is highly responsive in addressing hundreds of complaints each day as well as hugely successful in exerting positive influence on agencies of law and justice. The quasi-judicial body runs a fleet of mobile vans and has a vast network of local NGOs that operate under the umbrella of 'Mahila Panchayats'. An all-round exposure to crime and social injustice has placed her in a position to understand what positive gender governance needs today.
She stressed on the need to bring in experts from the social impact sector, to work on aspects like financial inclusion and offering women access to digital tools and formal credit.
Justice is not a singular event. It is a continuous process that ends with rehabilitation. If women are not placed in the workforce and made financially and emotionally independent, they may remain vulnerable. Recidivism is a function of unchanged social and economic conditions. In keeping with this view, DCW appointed 9 acid attack survivors in the Commission and 12 acid attack survivors in DCW’s Mahila Panchayat program. She urged GDi's young nation builders to brainstorm ideas for better gender governance.
She spoke about the need to strengthen the federal structures of governance in favour of gender rights and made a case of collaboration between governments and as well and private and public partnerships.
Swati Maliwal, a social activist at heart, now finds herself in a critical role within a government system. She spoke about the need to strike a balance between passion and pragmatism to run a system well.
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