Delhi Commission for Women

The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) is a statutory body of the Government of Delhi constituted to investigate and examine all matters relating to the safety and security of women under the constitution and other laws in Delhi, India.[1]

The current chairperson of DCW is Swati Maliwal, who took charge on 29 July 2015.[2][3]

History

DCW was constituted in 1994 by the Government of Delhi under the Delhi Commission for Women Act, 1994, and it started functioning in 1996. The primary agenda of the Commission is the investigation and examination of all matters relating to the safety and security provided to women under the Constitution and other laws. The Commission is also committed to making recommendations for effective implementation of laws and to improve the conditions of women in Delhi.[1]

Composition

According to the DCW Act,[4] the commission consists of:

  1. A Chairperson, committed to the cause of women, to be nominated by the Government.
  2. Five members to be nominated by the Government from and amongst the persons having not less than 10 years experience in the field of women welfare, administration economic development, health education or social welfare, including at least one Member belonging to the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes.
  3. A Member-Secretary to be nominated by the Government who shall be: an expert in the field of management, organisational structure or sociological movement, or an officer who is a member of a civil services of the Union or of an All India Service holds a civil post under the Union with appropriate experience.

Although members need to have at least 10 years experience in women welfare, the Chairperson is not required to have any such qualification.

Functions

The commission has various functions such as to "investigate and examine all matters relating to the safeguards provided for women under the constitution and other laws". In certain matters the commission also acts as a quasi-judicial body. The commission has all the powers of a civil court trying suit in certain cases such as "summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person from any part of India and examine him on oath" and "requiring the discovery and production of any document".[5]

References
  1. "Delhi Commission for Women". Government of Delhi. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  2. "DCW chief Swati Maliwal is all for a change". India Today. 2 August 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  3. "AAP Government Appoints Swati Maliwal New Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson". NDTV. 18 July 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  4. "Chapter 2 - CONSTITUTION OF THE DELHI COMMISSION FOR WOMEN". Archived from the original on 15 August 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  5. "Delhi Commission For Women". Delhi.gov.in. 23 March 2014. Archived from the original on 18 August 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.