Draft of Women's Policy in Uttarakhand | 10 Dec 2022

Why In News?

On December 8, 2022, Uttarakhand State Women Commission Chairperson Kusum Kandwal said after a meeting of officials held at the Secretariat on the draft women policy that for the first time in the state, a policy for women is going to be made. The draft women's policy has been prepared by the State Women's Commission, which will be released on International Women's Day on March 8 next year.

Key Points

• Kusum Kandwal said that the draft has been finalized with the cooperation of many departments and social organizations. The draft has been prepared keeping in mind the women of the mountain. In the women's policy, special arrangements have been emphasized for single women.
• Several schemes are proposed to strengthen single women's organizations at block and district level. Indira Awas Yojana and MGNREGA also propose a provision of some percent reservation for single women.
• It was told in the meeting that there is a need to change many government schemes for the promotion, development and empowerment of women. In particular, there should be a change in the marriage grant scheme of the Social Welfare Department. Under this scheme, a grant of Rs 50,000 is given for the marriage of the daughters of scheduled caste, scheduled tribe category and widowed woman in general category. Instead of granting for marriage, support should be given for the education of daughters and making them self-reliant.
• The chairperson of the State Women's Commission said that there should be a provision of 50 per cent reservation for women in forest panchayats.