VHP to run women help centres in police stations?

JAIPUR: Mahila Salah Evum Suraksha Kendras have been running in Jaipur for nearly 15 years now. These are centres within police stations to counsel women in distress, to help them seek justice if they face violence or sexual assault. These centres deal with a whole range of situations women face, whether being denied property or dignity within the family. In the 15 years of their existence, the centres, which have functioned from within the premises of police stations, have not only aided several women, but also reduced the numbers that approach courts or file FIRs. But could that soon change?

At a press conference on Wednesday,

Kavita Srivastava

of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Nisha Sidhu of the CPI, Renuka Pamecha, a teacher of political science who has been closely involved with the running of these centres and other prominent women said that the state government had decided to hand over the functioning of the North and South units of these centres to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s

Matra Shakti Seva

Nyas.

“The institutional framework that has been strengthened through the years, the secular manner in which these centres have functioned – all that will change. In the North of the city, there are a large number of Muslim families. Those women are unlikely to approach centres run by such an organization,” Kavita Srivastava said.

Nisha Sidhu had to file applications under the Right to Information Act to get information about the impending change. A meeting was held of the steering committee of the Mahila Salah centre on September 22, headed by secretary Kuldeep Ranka of the department of women and child development of the state government. It was at this meeting that a decision to hand over the North and South centres of Jaipur to the VHP outfit was taken.

“India is a large and secular place and all organizations have the right to coexist. The Matra Shakti Seva has expertise in training women to make murabbas and pickles and baskets. They have never before dealt with counselling women who face violence or assault. They have admitted as such even in the proposal that they submitted to the state government to run these centres. Despite that, they were chosen. And the choice has come despite the fact that there were several other more qualified organizations in the running,” said Srivastava.

The first centres under the Mahila Suraksha programme were set up in 2001-02 in the city, along the lines of such counselling programmes for women in collaboration with police in Mumbai, Delhi and Chandigarh. Earlier, the steering committees had representatives from NGOs too on them. Pamecha explained that ever since the Vasundhara Raje government came to power, the appointment of the NGO members had been inexplicably delayed. “We have had problems earlier too. There were times when organizations headed by men were appointed in this role and we have managed to get that changed. There was a process of negotiation in place. That has been replaced by opacity,” Srivastava said at the press conference.

Secretary Kuldeep Ranka of the department of women and child welfare said he was on leave, attending to a medical emergency in the family. Amita Bahel, state minister for women and child development, asked why a VHP outfit was being allowed to run these centres, told TOI, “I do not know. They must have met the necessary qualifications.”



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