Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Maharashtra MahaYuti government launched its 4th Women’s Policy on the occasion of International Women’s Day. The focus lies on ensuring effective implementation to foster the overall development and empowerment of women.
The policy focuses on health, nutrition, well-being, education, skill development, gender-responsive governance, political participation, and ending sexual and gender-based violence.
Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare announced a three-tier arrangement to review the policy’s implementation. This includes a high-level committee chaired by the Chief Minister, a State Task Force led by the Minister of Women and Child Development, and district-level committees headed by Guardian Ministers.
The fourth Women’s Policy follows previous policies announced in 1994, 2001, and 2014. Tatkare emphasized the need for this policy as a decade has elapsed since the third policy was introduced.
Interestingly, the policy lacks provisions for LGBTQ individuals, unlike the draft Women’s Policy prepared by the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government. The MahaYuti government intends to introduce separate policies for LGBTQ individuals and Child Development before the Assembly elections scheduled for September-October this year.
As per the 2011 Census, of the total 11.24 crore state population, women constitute 54.13 lakh with a sex ratio of 929. The new policy lays emphasis on 100 per cent enrolment and retention of adolescent girls in secondary and senior secondary level schools in remote and under-served pockets across rural, urban, and tribal areas.
It categorises the state into industrial zones to tailor skill development ent pro- grammes to the unique needs and strengths of each region. Such categorisation will take into account factors like literacy levels and the migration patterns of women. The policy proposes free health check-up camps in underserviced, remote and hard-to-reach areas across urban, rural and tribal areas, improved diagnostic services at all government health facilities up to the primary health centre level with improved referral systems and Initiation of demand-based day care centres in establishments with a high number of women.
Besides daycare centre facilities in Special Industrial Areas and Commerce Zones will be established.
To end sexual and gender-based violence, the government will constitute the Internal Committee (IC) as stipulated in the POSH Act at all public and private organisations/institutions and establish a ‘BHAROSA CELL in all police headquarters.
Further, to enhance gender-responsive livelihoods, the policy proposes an emphasis on employment, enterprise, and skills development.
Moreover, the policy proposes gender-responsive governance and political participation with the development of a comprehensive training module for elected women representatives covering leadership, planning, budgeting, programme management, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. It also emphasises on gender- sensitive natural resource management, climate change adaptation, and disaster management.