R’than clears Bill to help women

Rising number of cases of women being branded as witches to come down

 The Rajasthan government on Wednesday approved a Bill that proposes stringent punishment against women being branded as witches or subjected to other atrocities.

“The cabinet meeting was held at chief minister Ashok Gehlot’s office on Wednesday. The draft of the Bill named Rajasthan Women (Prevention and Protection from Atrocities) Bill, 2011, was approved by the cabinet,” said an officer of the chief minister’s office.

The Bill was prepared by the state women and child welfare department, keeping in view increasing cases of women being branded witches in the state. The officer said the Bill also proposes to prevent other offences of atrocities against women and constitution of special courts for trial of such cases. Relief and rehabilitation will be provided to victims. “The Bill will soon be tabled in the Assembly,” said the officer.

According to the Bill, a crime will be considered to have been committed when any person or community intentionally or inadvertently abets, conspires, aids and instigates the identification of a woman as a witch, leading to her mental and physical torture and humiliation. The Bill has proposed a maximum of seven years’ imprisonment and fine for those who grab the land of such women, after forcing them to leave their house.

If a woman commits suicide after being called a witch, the accused will be given a prison sentence of not less than five years, which can be extended up to 10 years, with a minimum fine of Rs 25,000. The fine can be enhanced to Rs 50,000.

Regularisation move

The official said the cabinet also decided to launch Prashashan Shahron Ke Sang campaign between November 21 and December 25. “It was decided by the cabinet that buildings constructed in unauthorised colonies set up before June 17, 1999, on agriculture land will be regularised during the campaign,” said the officer.

The cabinet also approved a proposal related to amendment in various models of the Affordable Housing Policy, 2009. The decision will pave way for providing more houses to people from weaker
sections.

I want to see more women in Parliament, says Meira Kumar

The seventh meeting of women Speakers of Parliament ended here on Thursday with a call for promoting women’s representation in Parliaments and other elected bodies through supportive electoral laws and temporary special measures.

A declaration adopted at the end of the two-day meeting said it was important to bring women’s participation to its utmost potential by enabling their representation in all parliamentary committees and ensuring their nomination or election to leadership positions in parliamentary structures.

Without mentioning the Women’s Reservation Bill – passed by the Rajya Sabha but pending in the Lok Sabha – Speaker Meira Kumar told journalists she would like to see more women on the floor of the House.

Ms. Kumar said she had been requested by MPs to play a proactive role in ensuring that women got more space in Parliament and she had even called several meetings on the issue.

Praising male MPs, Ms. Kumar said they were very respectful to women and helped the passage of a series of women-centric laws, some of which were path-breaking including the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments which reserved 33 per cent seats for women in panchayats and municipal bodies. “We do have a gender-sensitive Parliament.’’

There are 190 Parliaments in the world but only 37 have women Speakers. While India does have one in the Lok Sabha, the representation of women in the House is only 11 per cent.

The Delhi Declaration said gender equality should be placed higher on the parliamentary agenda by ensuring debates on the issue inside Parliament, by mainstreaming gender through the establishment of specialised committees, and through women’s caucuses and gender units.

It called for sharing the responsibility for gender equality with men by raising their awareness and knowledge and associating them in legislative initiatives, debates and events on women’s rights.

The meeting had been organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and Indian Parliament.

Mangalore to get international airport

The Bajpe domestic airport at Mangalore, which was one of the earliest airports to start international flights, can now claim its place in the club of international airports of the country.

The cabinet committee on economic affairs, headed by Union finance minister P Chidambaram has finally announced that Mangalore airport will get the international tag.

The international-airport tag changes the way Mangalore is looked upon. It has been considered a common, tier-II city so far, but now it will be known as a city with an international airport.

“It will improve not just the image of the city, but will also result in various other facilities, including the increase in airlines that will operate from Mangalore to various destinations, both on domestic and international routes. It means there will be more competition, which will result in good service and lower ticket rates,” airport director MR Vasudeva told DNA.

The airport has had the passenger movement of 9.29 lakh till June 2012. Of this, 2.25 lakh were international passengers. The first international flight landed at Mangalore airport on October 3, 2006. Presently, Air India Express—the only operator that flies to six destinations in West Asia from Mangalore—operates on Mangalore-Kuwait-Doha, Baharain, Dubai, Muscat and Abu Dhabi routes from Mangalore every day. Air Arabia and Spice Air were trying to join international flight schedules from Mangalore.

Mangalore International Airport is the second best connected airport after Bangalore in Karnataka. It is connected to BIA at Bangalore and Mumbai, from where one can fly to any part of the world.