Implement scheme to protect women from violence, say activists

Several women's rights organisations Friday demanded that the scheme governing the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence (PWDV) Act, 2005 be immediately and strictly implemented.

The umbrella scheme, approved by the Planning Commission while it finalised the 12th Five Year Plan, is meant to provide assistance to states in the implementation of the PWDV Act.

It would provide for the appointment of protection officers, registration of service providers and notification of medical facilities and shelter homes.

"The bill was passed in 2005, we have waited for almost seven years now and still there has been no budget allocation for the implementation of the act," said Julie Thekkudan, a women's rights activist and member of Oxfam India.

According to the women's rights organisation, a fund of Rs.1,158 crore annually would be required for effective implementation of the act.

"The government had said that the scheme will be implemented on a 75:25 sharing pattern between the centre and the states, but nothing seems to have happened so far," Thekkudan said.

The women's rights groups have also urged the state governments to submit their proposal to the Ministry of Women and Child Development at the earliest.

"The PWDV has been a milestone in the history of the women's movement, but then, analysing the situation now, we are back to the point where we started," said Ranjana Kumari, director, Centre for Social Research (CSR).