Odisha formulates draft policy for women, girls

Odisha Government has prepared a draft policy aiming to create an enabling environment for women in the state, a senior official said here today.
"After consultations with various departments, the draft policy has been finalised and it will be presented before the new government for adoption as the official policy," chief secretary JK Mohapatra said after a meeting where women and child development department secretary Arati Ahuja was also present.
The policy has set the visions like enabling the girl and women to lead a life of dignity, enjoy good health and well-being, have equal opportunities in all spheres of life, participate in social, political and economic spheres, and lead a safe, secure and self reliant life, he said.

The guiding principles of the draft policy are Equity, Affirmative Action, Life Cycle Approach, Inclusion, Participation and Regional and Cultural Diversity, they said.
Stating that the policy directives along with strategies and action points on several focus areas were deliberated in the meeting, Ahuja said the framework for operationalisation, institutional mechanism, monitoring and review was also discussed in the meeting.
On the security of women, the policy aims to establish One Stop Service Centres in all the districts in a phased manner to extend care and support services for a range of needs of women victims/survivors of violence.
The policy also suggested the state government to establish specialised and designated courts for speedy trials of sexual offences.

The inputs suggested by secretaries of various departments and experts were taken note of for inclusion in the policy.