Page 10 - Women

Manipur incident unforgivable, says Mizoram State Commission for Women

The Mizoram State Commission for Women (MSCW) on Friday termed the Manipur incident as unforgivable. It wrote to the National Commission for Women and its Manipur counterpart urging them to take immediate action against the perpetrators of the gruesome crime, MSCW chairperson Lallawmchhungi said. "The commission is deeply concerned about the video in which two disrobed women are being forced to walk with hundreds of men behind them in Manipur. The act is unforgivable," she told reporters in Aizawl. "We appeal to people to immediately stop any form of violence against women," she said. The commission requested the menfolk of the Northeastern state not to use muscle power on women. Tension mounted in the hills of Manipur after a May 4 video surfaced on Wednesday showing two women from one of the warring communities being paraded naked and constantly groped and molested by a mob. Manipur police said that four prime accused have been arrested till now in connection with the viral vid

Dhankhar reconstitutes RS panel of vice-chairpersons, half of them women

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday reconstituted the panel of vice-chairpersons of Parliament's upper house with half of them being women. The House members are informed that the panel of vice chairpersons has been reconstituted with effect from July 17, 2023, he said. Among the Rajya Sabha members who are the new vice-chairpersons are P T Usha, S Phangnon Konyak, Fauzia Khan, Sulata Deo, V Vijaysai Reddy, Ghanshyam Tiwari, L Hanumanthaiah and Sukhendu Sekhar Ray. "Members will be happy to note that 50 per cent of vice-chairpersons happen to be women," the chairman said. As per Rajya Sabha rules, "The chairman shall, from time to time, nominate from amongst the members of the Council a panel of not more than six vice-chairmen, one of whom may preside over the Council in the absence of the chairman and the deputy chairman when so requested by the chairman, or in his absence, by the deputy chairman." A vice-chairperson nominated under sub-rule (1) shall hold office un

Taliban uses tasers to break up Afghan women protesting beauty salon ban

Dozens of Afghan women protested a beauty salon ban on Wednesday after the Taliban ordered their closure nationwide. Security forces used fire hoses, tasers and shot their guns into the air to break up the protest. The Taliban said earlier this month they were giving all salons in Afghanistan one month to wind down their businesses and close shop, drawing concern from international officials worried about the impact on female entrepreneurs. The Taliban say they are outlawing salons allegedly because they offer services forbidden by Islam and cause economic hardship for grooms' families during wedding festivities. The ruling came from the Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada the latest curb on the rights and freedoms of Afghan women and girls, following edicts barring them from education, public spaces and most forms of employment. In a rare sign of public opposition to Taliban orders, dozens of beauticians and makeup artists gathered in the capital of Kabul to protest the ban. W

26 Oppn parties demand caste census, vow to fight crimes against minorities

A group of 26 opposition parties on Tuesday demanded the implementation of the caste census while asserting that they have come together to defeat the "hatred and violence being manufactured against minorities" as well as "rising crimes against women, Dalits, tribals and Kashmiri Pandits". The opposition alliance that will take on the ruling NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will be called Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) and an 11-member committee will be set up for coordination, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge announced after a meeting of the parties here. In their 'Samuhik Sankalp (joint resolution)' released after the meeting, the parties expressed their steadfast resolve to safeguard the idea of India as enshrined in the Constitution. "The character of our republic is being severely assaulted in a systematic manner by the BJP. We are at a most crucial juncture in our nation's history. The foundational pillars of the Indian Constitution secular .

ELGi Equipments brings all-women workforce at 2 assembly lines in TN unit

Elgi Equipments Ltd, manufacturer of air compressors, has introduced assembly lines at its unit in Tamil Nadu entirely operated by women workforce, the company said on Tuesday. The Coimbatore-based company, in a statement, said it reiterates commitment towards building a gender-diverse, inclusive workforce through women empowerment and skill development. Twenty women employees would be managing the air-end assembly line, encapsulated air-end assembly line and the ELGi new generation compressor top block assembly line at the company's ELGi Air Centre in Coimbatore. After obtaining graduation on a three-year technical training programme comprising modules on machining, welding, electrical work, engineering and production technologies at ELGi Vocational Training School, the women candidates were directly recruited at the facility, ELGi Equipments said. "In line with ELGi's focus on fostering a safe and healthy work environment, every woman working on the shop floor has received ...

Domestic automakers accelerate employment of women in shop floors

Homegrown automakers Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Ashok Leyland and Hero MotoCorp are accelerating the drive to employ more women in shop floors as they press hard on the pedal to enhance diversity. Once outsiders but no longer, thousands of women are now rolling out from two-wheelers to popular SUVs and heavy commercial vehicles across different factories of these companies. Tata Motors has over 4,500 women working in the shop floors across six manufacturing plants, including an all-women line at its Pune facility with over 1,500 of them producing popular SUVs such as Harrier and Safari. "We are an equal opportunity employer and believe a gender-balanced workforce leads to increased productivity, better decisions, enhanced collaboration, and more innovative ideas. Our focus is on enhancing diversity, especially on the shop floor and 25 per cent of all our new recruits are women," Tata Motors Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) Ravindra Kumar GP told PTI. He further said, ...

Taliban leader claims women provided with comfortable, prosperous life

The supreme leader of the Taliban released a message on Sunday claiming that his government has taken the necessary steps for the betterment of women's lives in Afghanistan, where women are banned from public life and work and girls' education is severely curtailed. The statement from Hibatullah Akhundzada was made public ahead of the Eid al-Adha holiday, which will be celebrated later this week in Afghanistan and other Islamic countries. Akhundzada, an Islamic scholar, rarely appears in public or leaves the Taliban heartland in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province. He surrounds himself with other religious scholars and allies who oppose education and work for women. In his Eid message Akhundzada said that under the rule of the Islamic Emirate, concrete measures have been taken to save women from many traditional oppressions, including forced marriages, "and their Shariah rights have been protected. Moreover, necessary steps have been taken for the betterment of women as half o

Women's public presence in Afghanistan totally erased by Taliban: UN

Irene Khan said in a report that women's rights groups play an important role in the struggle for gender equality and in promoting the agency of women

Army exposes ISI's move to involve women, juveniles in terror network

A 'dangerous move' by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and heads of terror groups to rope in women and juveniles to carry weapons and messages has come to light amid a decline in the use of traditional means of communication by terrorists in Kashmir valley, a top army officer has said. The General Officer Commanding of Srinagar-based 15 Corps, also known as Chinar Corps, Lt Gen Amardeep Singh Aujla also said the forces need to be cautious as people sitting across the Line of Control (LoC) are busy scheming and planning to disturb the prevailing peaceful atmosphere. "Today's threat, as I see it, is involving women, girls and juveniles in carrying messages, drugs or, at times, weapons. So far, the army has detected some cases highlighting an emerging trend which in itself is a dangerous move that Pakistan's ISI and heads of 'tanzeems' (terror groups) have adopted. We, along with other agencies, are jointly working out on this," Lt Gen Aujla told PTI. Asked if it means that

Women now behind the wheel of MSRTC buses for first time in 75 years

The women drivers who possessed the heavy vehicle licence underwent rigorous training of three months, while those who did not have this licence underwent training for a full year, the report said

Himachal abolishes income limit for women's social security pension: Sukhu

The Chief Minister said that he government was committed to ensure welfare of every section of society, particularly the under-privileged groups

K'taka issues orders for 'Shakti' scheme offering free bus ride to women

The Karnataka government on Monday issued orders for the implementation of 'Shakti' scheme under which women can avail free travel in state-run buses with certain conditions, including reservation of 50 per cent seats for men, from June 11. The Congress in its election manifesto had promised free rides for women in government buses and said this was one of the five poll guarantees that would come into effect the day it comes to power in the state. According to the order, the beneficiaries of the scheme should be a domicile of Karnataka. Along with women, transgenders can also make use of the 'Shakti' scheme. The beneficiaries of this scheme can travel only within the state and not in any inter-state buses. All luxury buses such as Rajahamsa, Non-AC sleeper, Vajra, Vayu Vajra, Airavat, Airavat Club Class, Airavat Gold Class, Ambari, Ambari Dream Class, Ambari Utsav Fly Bus, EV Power Plus have been excluded from the purview of the scheme. The government said the benefits of the sche

Pay packages shrink for the few women who sit atop S&P 500 firms

The AP's and Equilar's compensation study included pay data for 343 CEOs at S and P 500 companies who have served at least two fiscal years at their companies

Out of 343 CEOs in S&P 500 companies, only 20 were women, shows study

AP and Equilar conducted a compensation survey of the S&P 500 companies

Women to travel free of cost in state-run buses soon: Karnataka minister

Reddy held a meeting with the Managing Directors of four divisions of the Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), following which he informed the reporters about the latest development

73% women want companies to allow them take menstrual leave: Report

Around 73 per cent of women want companies to allow them to take menstrual leaves while 86.6 per cent are in favour of a menstrual-friendly workplace where hygiene methods and support infrastructure are available to women, according to a recent study. The Menstrual Hygiene Survey 2023, conducted by Everteen, a feminine hygiene brand, also revealed that 71.7 per cent of the participants in the survey do not want the menstrual leaves to be paid, fearing that it may make companies reluctant to hire female employees. Nearly 10,000 women in the age group of 18 to 35 years participated in the survey that was conducted in multiple cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Patna. The survey report was released ahead of the global Menstrual Hygiene Day on May 28. "While 73 per cent of women want that companies should allow them to take menstrual leaves, 71.7 per cent of them do not want these to be paid and fear that it may make ..

Prez urges tribal women to come forward to reap benefits of govt scheme

President Droupadi Murmu, who is on a three-day visit to Jharkhand, on Thursday urged tribal women to come forward and reap the benefits of government schemes. She also said there is a need to preserve the cultural identity of Scheduled Tribe community. "Come forward and take the benefits of government schemes which are run for your welfare. Tribal women of Jharkhand are ahead of those in other states when it comes to women empowerment," Murmu said at an event in Khunti. Jharkhand tribal women have shown "exemplary performance in sports", she said, adding that women in the state are also contributing to the economic growth of the country. The President interacted with women members of Self Help Groups in Khunti, the birthplace of tribal icon Birsa Munda. The programme - Mahila SHGs Sammelan - was organised by the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India and the National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation. Around 25,000 tribal women participat

Of total arms licence holders in Delhi, 2% women, majority sportspersons

Women account for just about two per cent of the arms licence holders in the national capital with a majority of them being sportspersons and those who got it through inheritance. Delhi Police Licensing Department data shows that there are 41,600 arms licence holders in the city's 15 police districts and of them, 888 are women. The information was provided by Deputy Commissioner of Police (Licensing) Bisma Qazi in an RTI reply to PTI. Requesting anonymity, a senior officer earlier posted in the department said," We do not have any special concession for grant of licence under the law on the grounds of an applicant's gender." "Whether a man or a woman, we analyse if there is a genuine threat to a person's life and then allow it," he said and added that the number women applicants is also very low. District-wise analysis of the data shows that the South police district, which has a number of posh colonies, tops with 264 women arms licence holders. It also has the highest number of a

70 women go missing from Maha every day: LoP Danve raises concerns

Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council Ambadas Danve has claimed that 70 women/girls go missing from the state every day and has asked the government to take steps for the safety and security of women. In a letter written on Wednesday to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the home department charge, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Danve said it has come to light that from January to March this, more than 5,510 women and girls have gone missing from the state. Giving details, he said 1,600 went missing in January, 1,810 in February and 2,200 in March. "The graph of missing girls and women is growing in state," Danve claimed. Maharashtra is known as one of the leading states for women's security. The government should initiate steps immediately for the safety and security of women in the state, he said. Notably, Maharashtra State Commission for Woman chairperson Rupali Chakankar recently asked the state home department to set up a panel t

RAPIDX trains to have dedicated women's coach to ensure comfortable travel

India's first regional rail RAPIDX will have a dedicated women's coach on every train to ensure safe and comfortable regional travel for women, an official statement said on Wednesday. A provision for a diaper-changing station has also been made at every station. "Moving in the direction to Meerut from Delhi, the second coach of the train set, i.e. just after the premium coach will be the women's coach. Whereas while moving to Delhi from Meerut it will be the second last coach of the train i.e. just before the premium coach," the statement stated. Proper signage is being provided for the identification of these coaches at the platform level and on the train door openings. This reserved coach will have 72 seating capacity, it said. Ten additional seats are also reserved for women in other coaches, it added. "Keeping in mind the convenience of commuters travelling with young children, a provision for a diaper-changing station has also been made at every station integrated with other