It is said that the best way to know about society, a civilization and a culture, try to know as

much possible about the women. In India, women have come a long way from the rare women
scholars and sages of the Vedic age to the women in different sectors of society and civilization
today, such as the armed forces, arts, information technology, politics and a number of similar
sectors which have traditionally been male dominated, while simultaneously balancing the roles
of wife, mother and daughter. While Indian women have fought against the patriarchal Indian
society and triumphed at many levels, cases of rape, dowry deaths, female infanticide, sexual
harassment at workplaces, female illiteracy, and similar problems are still rampant in Indian
society. It was in this backdrop that the Committee on the Status of Women in India (CSWI) the
establishment of the National Commission for Women to fulfill the surveillance functions and to
facilitate redressal of grievances and to accelerate the socio-economic development of women.
The principle of gender equality is enshrined in the Indian Constitution. The Preamble, promotes
Equality of status and of opportunity; the Fundamental Rights enshrined in Part III of the
Indian Constitution and Directive Principles enshrined in Part IV of the Constitution all promote
gender equality. The Constitution not only grants equality to women but has also made special
provisions for ensuring equality Thus, as per the recommendations of the CSWI and in order to
uphold the mandate of the Constitution, in January 1992, the National Commission for Women
(NCW), was set up as a statutory body under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990
(Act No. 20 of 1990 of Government of India) to carry out the mandate set by the Act as well as
CSWI.About The Commission
This chapter aims at informing the reader of the need for a commission such as the National
Commission for Women and the impetus for its establishment in 1992. The chapter further
examines the relationship between the constitution and the commission, the mandate given by
the constitution as well as the basic administrative set up of the commission as per the
constitution.
Importance of The Commission:
Women as a class neither belong to a minority group nor are they regarded as a backward class.
India has traditionally been a patriarchal society and therefore women have always suffered from
social handicaps and disabilities. It thus became necessary to take certain ameliorative steps in
order to improve the condition of women in the traditionally male dominated society.The
Constitution does not contain any provision specifically made to favor women as such. Though
Art. 15 (3), Art. 21 and Art. 14 are in favor of women; they are more general in nature and
provide for making any special provisions for women, while they are not in themselves such
provisions. The Supreme Court through interpretive processes has tried to extend some
safeguards to women. Through judgments in cases such as Bodhisattwa Gautam v. Subra
Chakraborty ( AIR 1996 SC 922). and the Chairman Rly Board v. Chandrima Das( AIR
2000 SC 988). case, where rape was declared a heinous crime, as well as the landmark judgment
in Visakha v. State of Rajasthan, (AIR 1997 SC 3011). the courts have tried to improve the social

conditions of Indian women. But these have hardly sufficed to improve the position of women in
India. Thus, in light of these conditions, the Committee on the Status of Woman (India) as well
as a number of NGOs, social workers and experts, who were consulted by the Government in
1990, recommended the establishment of a apex body for woman.
The lack of constitutional machinery, judicial ability and social interest formed the impetus and
need for the formation of the National Commission for Women. It is apparent from the prior
mentioned conditions and problems that women in India, though in a better position than their
ancestors, were handicapped to a great extent in the early 1990s and these handicaps and
injustices against Indian women prompted the Indian Government to constitute the first National
Commission for Women in 1992. , http://ncw.nic.in/ (Aug. 4, 2007).
The Constitution of The Commission:
The National Commission for Women Act, 1990 (Act No. 20 of 1990 of Government of India)
constituted the National Commission for Women as a statutory body. The first commission was
constituted on 31st January 1992 with Mrs. Jayanti Patnaik as the Chairperson.
The Act of 1990 under Section 3 provides for the constitution of the commission. This section
lays down that the commission will consist of one Chairperson, who is committed to the cause of
women, five members from various fields and a member secretary who shall be an expert in the
fields of management, organizational structure, sociological movement or a, member of the civil
service of the Union. All the members of the commission are nominated by the Central
Government.
Each person holds office for a period of five years or till he attains the age of seventy. At least
one member each of the Commission must belong to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe. In
addition to the abovementioned members of the Commission, the Commission has the power to
set up committees with members from outside the Commission.
The Mandate of the Commission:
Section 10(1) of the Act of 1990 provides a fourteen-point mandate for the National Commission
for Women. A general overview of the mandate has been provided and a few significant clauses
have been discussed.
Broadly speaking the Commissions mandate can be divided under four heads (a) safeguard of
rights of women granted by the constitution and laws, (b) study problems faced by women in the
current day and make recommendations to eradicate these problems, (c) evaluating the status of
Indian women from time to time and (d) funding and fighting cases related to womens rights
violations.

(a) Safeguard Rights of Women:

these are enshrined in sub clauses (a) (e) of Section 10 (1) of the Act. They expect the
Commission to examine the safeguards for women provided by the law and the Constitution. The
Commission is to submit reports about these safeguards and make recommendations about the
implementation of the same. The Commission is also expected to review these safeguards
periodically to identify and remedy any lacunae and inadequacies. The Commission is also
empowered to take up cases involving the violation of the cases.
(b) Study of problems faced by women:
these are mainly enshrined in sub clauses (g) (i) of Section 10 (1) of the Act. According to
these sub clauses, the Commission is to carry out studies involving the problems arising out of
discrimination against woman and provide remedies for these problems. As per this part of the
mandate, the Commission is also expected to advise the government about the socio economic
development of women based on these studies.
(c) Evaluating status of Indian women
sub clauses (j) (n) of the aforementioned section of the Act deals with these responsibilities of
the Commission.
The Commission, according to these guidelines, has the responsibilities of the evaluating the
status of Indian women under the Union Government and State Governments. It is to inspect and
evaluate the conditions of detention homes and other such facilities in which women may be
detained and deal with the appropriate authorities in order to improve the condition of such
places. These evaluations are to be submitted to the Government through periodic reports and
recommendations. Fighting cases related to womens rights violation: certain clauses in the
mandate also empower the Commission to take up cases related to discrimination against
women, womens right violation and fund cases which involve the rights of a large number of
women. Sub clause (f) of Section 3 of the Act of 1990 empowers the Commission to take suo
moto notice of matters relating to womens right deprivation, non implementation of laws
enacted to protect women and non compliance of policies and guidelines for mitigating
hardships of women, in such matters the Commission is empowered to approach the appropriate
authorities and seek remedies.
Functions of the Commission
Through this chapter the researcher will briefly outline the methods adopted by the Commission
in order to carry out the mandate discussed in 2.3. As violence and discrimination against women
is multi faceted in nature, the Commission has adopted a multi pronged strategy to combat

the problem. This strategy is broadly divided into three categories the counseling, the legal and
the research functions of the Commission.
Complaint And Counseling Functions:
The core unit of the Commission is considered to be the Complaint and Counseling Cell and it
processes the complaints received oral, written or suo moto under Section 10 of the NCW Act.
The complaints received relate to domestic violence, harassment, dowry, torture, desertion,
bigamy, rape and refusal to register FIR, cruelty by husband, derivation, gender discrimination
and sexual harassment at work place. During 1999, the Commission received 4329 complaints
related to the above types of crimes against women.
This cell adopts a three-point method to deal with the mentioned problems:
Investigations by the police are expedited and monitored.
Family disputes are resolved or compromised through counseling.
In case of serious crimes, the Commission constitutes an Inquiry Committee, which makes spot
enquiries, examines various witnesses, collects evidence and submits the report with
recommendations. Such investigations help in providing immediate relief and justice to the
victims of violence and atrocities. The implementation of the report is monitored by the NCW.
There is a provision for having experts/lawyers on these committees.
A number of such inquiry committees have been set up over fourteen years in order to combat
many serious problems. Committees were set up to investigate the alleged police atrocities and
misbehavior with girl students of Kurukshetra University the case of rape of a 30 year old
woman in Safdarjung Hospital, the case of a gang rape of 15 years old girl at Lucknow and other
such serious and heinous crimes against women.
The number of complaints registered with this cell has increased from a total of 4293 in 1999
2000 to a total of 5462 in 2003 04. This increase may be interpreted as a positive sign and one
signaling the success of this wing of the Commission. It also indicates the increasing trust that
women are investing in the Commission as a whole.
Legal Functions:
As mentioned in 2.3, a large part of the Commissions mandate is related to legal research for
safeguards of women, legal interventions, recommendations on bills and similar matters relating
to the legal system of India. The legal cell of the Commission was set up in order to deal with
these functions. The activities of this cell can be divided into three categories: (a) legal
amendments proposed (b) new laws and bills proposed and (c) court interventions.
(a) Legal Amendments: the Commissions mandate requires that it analyze and improve
existing laws from time to time. The Commission has proposed sixteen amendments till date The

commission has sought to amend the Indian Penal Code, 1860 in order to curb the sale of minor
girls; the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, in order to omit epilepsy as grounds for divorce; the Dowry
Prohibition Act of 1961, in order to bring the problems of Dowry deaths in to the lime light and
deal with them appropriately and the NCW Act, 1990, in order to gain greater autonomy and
jurisdiction within the country. In addition to these there are a number of other Acts and Bills,
which the Commission has sought to, amend but due to the paucity of space the researcher is
unable to discuss them here.
(b) News Bills Proposed: in the course of fourteen years the Commission has proposed a total of
seven bills and has drafted one convention for SAARC relating to trafficking of women and
children. Amongst other bills the Commission proposed the Marriage Bill, 1994; the Criminal
Laws (Amendment) Bill, 1994 (with reference to child rape); the Criminal Laws (Amendment)
Ordinance, 1996 and the Domestic Violence to Women (Prevention) bill, 1994. The Protection of
Women from Domestic Violence Bill was passed in 2005.
(c) Court Intervention: the Commission has intervened in numerous court cases, in order help
women whose rights have been violated, of these cases the researcher will only be able to
mention few of the more prominent ones. The Commission intervened in Bhateri gang rape
case and supported the victim and provided for her protection. In the Maimon Baskari's Nuh
case the Commission fought for the right of the victim to marry a person of her own choice and
against out dated customs. In the matter of Fakhruddin Mubarak Shaik v. Jaitunbi Mubarak
Shaik the Commission intervened to seek maintenance beyond the iddat period for Muslim
women. The Commission was also partly responsible the actions taken in the Imrana and Marine
Drive rape cases.
Research Functions:
The research cell of the Commission is that organ of the Commission that looks into the
emerging problems of Indian women due to discrimination and gender bias. This cell is also
responsible for educating women about their rights through a variety of seminars, workshops,
conferences and public hearings. This cell has also organized various special studies and set up
expert committees to look into and suggest remedies for problems, which have evolved recently.
Currently the cell is dealing with issues related to Gender and Law Enforcement, Impact of
Displacement of Women, Sexual Harassment at Workplace, Issues concerning Prostitution and
Political Empowerment of Women.
The three aforementioned organs of the Commission have been quite successful in carrying out
the mandate which the Commission was given by the Act of 1990. Amongst the three cells, it is
perhaps the Counseling cell which has been most successful because it is that cell of the
Commission which is in direct contact with the people. The other cells, while equally successful,
deal more with the different agencies of the Government and are thus not so widely acclaimed.

Achievements of The Commission

The following chapter will, very briefly, summarize the achievement, highlights and successes of
the Commission since its inception in 1992.
The complaints and counseling cell of the Commission is perhaps the most successful organ
of the organization, in illustration:
Ms. Rupali Jain was reinstated as a teacher, due to the actions of the Commission, after her
services were terminated at a school run by a non governmental organization, without any
substantial reasons. In another matter, Smt. Savitri, approached the Commission regarding
exploitation of her deaf and dumb daughter, who, along with her child, hah been deserted by her
husband and in laws, allegedly due to her disabilities. The Commission took up the matter and
the husband was located, counseled and is currently agreed to rehabilitate with his wife and
daughter. The Commission was also successful in securing the release of Mrs. Sudha Bala (name
changed) who was allegedly gang-raped by BSF personnel in early 2002. The victim along with
her young daughter was wrongly detained in Presidency Jail in Kolkata, after the alleged rape.
The matter was taken up by the Commission for the release of rape victim from the jail. The
Commissions actions resulted in the release of Mrs. Das from jail, who was given into safe
custody to her brother.
Besides these achievements, the Legal Cell of the Commission has proposed amendments to a
number of Acts and has proposed a number of new bills. The Commission has proposed
amendments to the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 and
the Indian Penal Code, 1960. The Commission has also proposed bills such as the Marriage Bill
of 1994, the Domestic Violence to Women (Prevention) Bill of 1994 and the Prevention of
Barbarous and Beastly cruelty against Women Bill, 1995 amongst others.
Some of these bills, such as the Domestic Violence to Women (Prevention) Bill, have recently
been passed. The Commission has also intervened in a number of court cases and these have
been mentioned in the chapter dealing with the functions of the Commission.The Research Cell
of the Commission has carried out a number of studies pertaining to topics such as social
mobilisation, maintenance and divorcee women, women labour under contract, gender bias in
judicial decisions, family courts, violence against women, women access to health and education
in slums and similar topics.
A number of inquiry commissions have also been established by the Commission, under Section
8 (1) of the Act of 1990, to look into matters such as Law and legislation, Political
empowerment, Custodial justice for women, Social security, Panchayati Raj, Women and media,
Development of Scheduled Tribe Women, Development of women of weaker sections,
Development of women of minority communities, Transfer of technology in agriculture for
development of women. Among other highlights are included the anti child marriage agitations

in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Public hearings on problems
of Muslim women, impact of globalization on women, on land related problems, economic
empowerment of tribal women have been successfully organized by the have been organized by
the Commission all over the country.
Within the short span of fourteen years, the Commission has fulfilled managed to fulfill most of
the responsibilities laid down in its mandate. The different public hearings, out reach programs,
counseling and legal function have definitely improved conditions of the Indian woman.
Conclusion:
Analysis And Shortcomings:
Analysis: From the previous chapters, it may be said that in the short period of fourteen years the
Commission has managed to fulfill the mandate, if not completely then to a great extent. The
achievements mentioned in the prior chapter are only a few of many similar achievements and
they are proof of the popularity and support the Commission is gaining from the Indian woman.
There is no doubt about the effectiveness of the Commission and about the good work which it is
doing for the women of India, however, there are certain shortcomings in the working of the
Commission, which, if rectified, would lead to a more efficient and productive Commission. The
following are the shortcomings
Shortcomings:
The Commission has no concrete legislative powers. It only has the powers to recommend
amendments and submit reports which are not binding on state or Union Governments.
The Commission does not have the power to select its own members. This power is vested with
the Union Government and in Indias volatile political scenario the Commission may be
politicized.
The Commission is dependent on grants from the Union Government for its financial
functioning and this could compromise the independence of the Commission.
The Commissions jurisdiction is not operative in Jammu and Kashmir and considering the
present political unrest and human rights violations in the region, the Commissions presence
there is vital.
Suggestions And Concluding Statements:
The above mentioned causes have its both positives and negatives but every shortcomings has its
own way out. To overcome the aforementioned shortcomings, it may be useful to incorporate the
following suggestion:
The Commission suggested that the chairperson of NCW be given the status of the Union
Cabinet Minister and the Members that of Minister of State. This will put more power in the
Commissions hands and thus its recommendations will have a greater degree of force.
The Commission must be granted the power to select its own members. If needed a separate
body, selected from within the Commission, should be constituted in order to carry these

functions.
The Commission must be given allocated funds in the Union as well as the State Budgets in
order facilitate smooth functioning. Currently funds are only allocated at the Central level and
not the state level.
The atrocities in Jammu and Kashmir are common knowledge. Taking these acts into account
the Commissions presence in the region is quite vital and should be allowed.
On this context we also have to see that how much the government implements the above
mentioned clauses and suggestions. More over its not only the duty of the state but also its the
duty of the citizens as a whole to look into if such miss conducts in our society is taking place or
not. There should me more public awareness and participation for the women oppression so as
make the work of the National Commission for Women more justifiable.