LSR starts special law course on women's issues

New Delhi: Lady Shri Ram College For

Women

has started a certificate

course

titled 'Women and

Law

' to give legal literacy to girls and educate them about the practical application of laws pertaining to women's

issues

. The course started on Tuesday with an interactive session attended by around 50 students. The sessions are being organised by Women's Development Cell and the internal complaints committee at

LSR

in collaboration with Delhi State Legal Services Authority. The course consists of six sessions of two hours twice a week and a field trip to Saket district court and the high court. "There's a lot of misuse of law even at the hands of women. The sessions are going to focus on the correct use of law and loopholes used for exploitation by both by men and women. Lectures on feminism and other issues concerning women keep happening, but the practical application of what law there is needs to come up," said Manmeet Kaur, coordinator, Women's Development Cell. The first day saw Chetna Singh, secretary of DLSA (southeast) giving an overview of the course that will offer an insight into the very basis of women's law and reasons behind specific legislations right from independence. Singh spoke about ancient India when women had an equal status and how it became skewed over time with the changes in the society. An attempt was also made to spread awareness about benefit schemes for women like Rashtriya Mahila Kosh, Kishori Shakti Yojana and the maternity benefit scheme. Through a series of case studies and tasks centred on domestic violence, sexual exploitation at the workplace and arresting women after 6pm, the students were asked about the steps they would take while dealing with such situations. Most students talked about apprehensions in reporting something at the police station, while some had queries on how the women's helpline is supposed to work. "We started with educating students about Domestic Violence Act and realised they were interested in knowing more. That's how the certificate course was conceptualised," said Dr Suman Sharma, principal, LSR.