21 Oral Answers [13 AUG. 1986] to Questions 22

SHRI JAGDISH TYTLER; I thought Mr. Statement Kalmadi was very much worried on the first question and I really answered that and The Committee on the Status of women in shared concern with him. I did not know he identified areas where certain thrusts are necessary for improvement in the status of was worried more for the second part which he is raising now. The whole country is women like health, education, employment, worried on that. It is not you alone social legislation, etc. It made 52 individually; or anybody. Prime Minister is recommendations out of which 20 recommendations were accepted by the dear to everybody. Of course, I am going to have a full enquiry about that an

(b) the follow-up action taken so far and with vihat results?

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE DEPARTMENTS OF YOUTH AFFAIRS AND SPORTS AND WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SHRIMATI MARGARET ALVA; The MARGARET ALVA): (a) and O) A whole statement of the recommendations, Statement is laid on the Table of the acceptance and follow up, is here which I can Sabha. place before the hon. Member. There were certain recommendations which the Empowered Committee felt could not be fThe question was actuall asked on the implemented because they were to be done at floor of the House by Shri Atal Bihari the State levels, local levels and some of them Vajpayee. were not immediately prac- 23 Oral Answers [ RAJYA SABHA ] to Questions 24 ticable. Having considered them, the SHRIMATI MARGARET ALVA; We Empowered Committee which, consisted of did have a National Committee whicU was representatives from the various Ministries set up in 1976. The National Committee said it would not be possible for them to was reconstituted in 1978 under the implement, and, therefore, they were not Chairmanship of the then Prime Minister Shri accepted at that stage itself. which continued t0 work till 1980. In the meantime, a bureau had als0 been MR. CHAIRMAN; Can you give one or set up for implementing the various suggestions. two instances of the kind of recom- The Committee had given general guidelines mendation;'? but implementation had to be done at inter- Ministerial level with coordination with State Governments and, therefore, the bureau SHRIMATI MARGARET ALVA. For had been set up. It was then under t'ne' instance, one of the recommendations, I can Ministry of Social Welfare and headed by a mention here, was about monogamy Joint Secretary. Sir,-since then, Mr. becoming a common law, pr being (accepted Vajpayee knows, we have a 'full-fledged as a common law for all communities. It was Department of Women and Child felt by the Committee thai it was very Development It was, therefore felt that premature at this stage since personal laws when we have a nodal M'nistry which were involved and that, perhaps, a campaign monitors ' programmes and look into them to enlighten the people, before such changes on a day-to-day basjs there was BO need for an could be brought in, would be needed. There Advisory Committee while all of us are on wife certain other things which we felt could the full-time job ourselves. Besides this, the not be done immediately and so they were not other voluntary organisations have been accepted for implementation. involved in a very big way. We have the Volun- tary Action Bureau under the Central Social Wefare Board which brings in al) the voluntary organisations in implementing ihem. SHRI K. MOHANAN : What prevents the Government from reconstituting the Committee again? MR. CHAIRMAN : You please sit down, Mr. Mohanan. I will give you a ! chance for a supplementary. Yes, Mr. Advani.

SHRI LAL K. ADVANI : 1 Report of. this Committee on the itus of Women is an earlier Report. Subsequent to that, the nodal Ministr; heads has e hat has happened sub?" a draft paper on-that also. T believe, which is called "Women in India" ; and which was perhaps circulated even at Nairobi. {.interruptions). 1 nave been oneted. "Y I find tha! this very Mrs. Ela Bhatt. rightly poir' Imbalances in t'ne allocation ot resources to areas critical tc women's development. It SHRIMATI 1MARGARET ALVA: If has particularly he 'has been briefed by a woman, then I am prepared to answer it most...

SHRI : Otherwise liot? 25 Oral Answers [ 13 AUG. 1986 ] to Questions 26 pointed out that two of these areas the organised labour force, can at j least are elementary educaton and health have increased economic support through the and the resources allocated are total self-employment programmes. ly inadequate. If really the status of women in the country has to be im MR. CHAIRMAN: Yes, Shrimati proved as recommended by that Com- Jayanthi Natarajan miitee, a basic reorientation in this regard is needed. I wonder what is SHRIMATI JAYANTHI NATARAJAN -: Sir, I the consequence of this land of very would like *o know from the honourable frank evaluation and cri:icism of the Minister whether there is any truth in the wide- Government's overall approach. Has spread rumours that female foeticide is pre- there been any discussion after the valent, that is, there are claims .hat tests can be formation of you. try with the conducted to find out ' whether the child to be Ministries concerned like Health and born is going to be a male or a female and if it is Education and, if so. what are the going to be a female child the foetus is being consequences? destroyed. I would like to know whether any such thing has | been noticed and, if so, whether IMATl MARGARAT ALVA : the Government is thinking of having any sla.ion Sir, we are constantly monitoring the to counter this evil because the female chid also new programmes and the old ones has a right to live. also. I must say that we do have an inter-Ministerial Co-ordination Com SHRIMATI MARGARET ALVA: Sir, this mitee headed by the Secretary of the is a very serious question. In fact, a number of Ministry of Women and Child Deve advertisements have recently been sent to me lopment which keeps constant touch from newspapers wherein lady doctors are with other Ministries. I do admit that announcing that pre-natal sex identification is women's condition is not what it possible and inviting couples to come for such should be or it could have been. We tests. Sir, our point is that it is not announced have today accepted the New Educa as a female infanticide kind of programme. tion Policy and we believe that a be They say that yo can just know whether it is a ginning has to come with equal op boy or a girl. I think this is a new problem portunity in education. There are which we are facing and the question whether many suggestions which have been legislation or other methods ought to be made and which have been placed be employed would have to be considered as we fore the House. One of them is that go along. boys and girls should start on an equal footing with co-education at the pri MR. CHAIRMAN: Yes, Shrimati Ela mary level. The second is equal op Ramesh Bhatt. All ladies will get preference portunity for vocational education on this question. and technical education far girls to improve their employment opportuni AN. HON. MEMBER: Gents are equally ties, and, Sir, there we are having also concerned. a programme for nonformal educa SHRI LAL K. ADVANI : Tins goes tion and adult education which would particularly take women into consi counter to equality. deration. Besides this, we are now in troducing many new schemes for wo j SHRIMATI ELA RAMESH BHATT: men's development like self-employ In view of the fact tha-: though women's ment programmes, even undei- the participation in the political process has TRYSEM, under the rural develop increased, both in elections ment programmes, etc. Now it is re quired that thirty per cent' of the beneficiaries should be women on the rural side and, apart from the Wo men's Development Corporations, ■ other training schemes are -also being implemented so that women, even if they are not immediately drawn into 27 Oral Answers [ RMYA SABHA ] io Questions 28 and in their readiness to exprss their views on should be statutory village level panchayats issues directly concerning their life, their for women. Now this is somethings which ability to produce an impact on the political concerns the State Governments. We cannot process has been negligible. My question to from here direct them but we have written to the hon. Minister is, whether it is true that the the State Governments asking them to in- Status of Women Committee had troduce this as far as possible. Many State recommended the establishment of statutory Governments have responded by reserving women's panchayats at the village level to be seats for women in village panchayats, in linked with the main panchayat of the village. municipalities and in their local bodies, which If yes, is it true that the Empowered Commit- has helped very much in involving women at tee had rejected this recommendation? If yes, the local level. why? If no, what steps have been :aken in this regard so far? As far as the question of decision making is concerned^ I must say that for the first time Secondly, in view of the fact that the in the history of this country we have 80 women's employment opportunities receding women in the two Houses of Parliament and in Formal Sector and their hunger increasing, there are 8 Ministers in the Union Cabinet there is no central body to review the which is the highest number. implementation of various rules and policies pertaining to women and it is having adverse effect on women's lives, my question to the hon. Minister is, is it (true that the National Committee of Women, having the Prime Minister as' the chairman met only once dur- ing the whole decade and the committee is now moribund? Is the Government thinking of setting up a parliamentary consultative committee on women?

SHRIMATI MARGARET' ALVA : Sir, this is a series of questions, but I may say one thing in connection with the National Committee that there were two committees. One was the Status of the Women Committee-, SHRIMATI MARGARET ALVA : which was set up to study the status Sir, that is a recommem from of women, which worked 1971 the hon. Member which would have to be to December 1974. It worked for two years considered at a later stage, bui it is not on the and was again reconstituted in 1978 and went cards at the moment. on to 1980. Since 1980 it has not been MR. CHAIRMAN: No other lady Member. reconstituted. We are now considering the Now is the t.:rn of Mr. Lakshmanna. question of setting up a natibnal committee, which is under the active consideration of the SHRI JAGDISH TYTLER : Although Government, and before long we will be able there is no lady Member to ask the question, to come to you with, a definite proposal. one of the Members on that side says, 'yes'. PROF. C- LAKSHMANNA : Sir, the As far t-.r, women panchayats arc Minister has stated that 20 recommendations concerned, there was the recommendation by are accepted by the Empowered Committee, the Committee that there and 19, accepted with modications. She also sta.ed that some of them pertain to 29 Oral Answers [ 13 AUG. 1986 ] to Questions 30 the various departments and ministries of the mittee to be superfluous or useless, it has to . Some of them also come before the House with the reasons for pertain to the S-ate Gov-ernmnets and the thinking so; otherwise the Government has no Union territories. I would like to ask power to abolish such a statutory committee specifically how many of the which has been constituted on the basis of a recommendations which were accepted fully unanimous Resolution passed by Parliament. I or partially or with modifications pertain to would like to know from the Minister why Ministries concerned with the Government of this Committee is defunct for the last five India. That is number one. years. Secondly, I would like to know whether SHRIMATI MARGARET ALVA : Sir, I one of the recommendations has been about did not say that we think the Committee is providing equal opportunity in the property useless or that it is not going to be rights for women. If so, what legislation is reconstituted. In 1978 when it was re- contemplated in this regard? constituted with the Prime Minister as its Chairman, it had two years' term which SHRIMATI MARGARET ALVA: I must expired in 1980. it was again not reconstituted apologise. I do not have the break-up subject- but as I said ... wise or what conies under each of these SHRI K. MOHANAN : Why? What heads. If the hon. Member wants ... prevented the Government to reconstitute this

MR. CHAIRMAN : He can put a separate Committee in the last five years? Government question. has no right to make it defunct. SHRIMATI MARGARET ALVA : SHRIMATI MARGARET ALVA: I told Because, Sir, 1 don't have the details. As far you it is under active consideration of the as legislation is concerned, a number of Government now for re-constitution, I cannot recommendations made pertain to ... say what happened in 1980. I can only say it was not reconstituted. We are now in the MR. CHAIRMAN : His question is process of constituting that Commitee. whether you are going to do anything about the property rights of women.

SHRIMATI MARGARET ALVA : Sir, that is not one of the recommendations which were accepted for implementation at that stage, so no follow-up on that particular thing has been there *

SHRI K. MOHANAN : Sir, this National Welfare Committee for Women was constituted not merely by an executive' order. That Committee was constituted on the basis of a Resolution unanimously passed by Parlia- ment. So this is a statutory committee and Government has no power to abolish or make it practically defunct. As you know the Prime Minister is the Chairman of the Commitee. In the Resolution itself, it was mentioned that Prime Minister would be the Chairman of the Committee. Now if the Government thinks such a com-

31 Oral Answers [ RAJYA SABHA ] to Questions 32

ren. Besides this, we are also introducing certain programmes for adult women. We did have, what was known as, Functional Literacy for Adult Women. It has been discontinued for a short time and it is being re-introduced in a new form for women in the age group of 18 to 25 who have not been in regular school up till now.

SHRI PAWAN KUMAR BANSAL: Sir, one important area, or field of activities where greater thrust is required is women's sports .... (Interruptions) .... I would like to know from the honourable Minister as to which are the universities where separate departments or directorates have been set up for women's sports exclusively. In any case, what is the position in the Central Universities? SHRIMATI MARGARET ALVA : Sir, we do not have separate directorates for women's sports in any of Our universities but we do have NIS Field Station in all universities which cater equally to the young students whether they are boys or girls. We are now having an annual sports event for women— the National Games for Women—which has become very popular and serves as an incentive for women's games. MR. CHAIRMAN : Nex; question. SHRIMATI RENUKA CHOWDHU-I RY : One question, Sir. MR. CHAIRMAN : Mrs. Renuka Choudhury, you came too late. .. (Interruptions'!.. i

MR. CHAIRMAN : No, no. He said that the whole Action Programme is going to be discussed.

SHRIMATI MARGARET ALVA : Sir, I can specifically tell him that one of the important recommendations is that Day Care Centres or Creches will be attached to every school so tha; the elder girl can bring the little children, leave them in the creche and go to school and will not have to sit at home to look after the younger child-