Womens commission cries for help

BANGALORE: State Women’s Commission is too ‘anaemic’ in many respects to take up the problems of the fair sex.The following pointers will throw light on this fact. One, the commission has the dubious distinction of having six secretaries in the last seven months, ever since the retirement of Parvathi Thimmaiah in March, resulting in no continuity in the functioning of the Commission. Two, those who came on  deputation were least interested and always managed to get out of the Commission. Three, the  existing 15-member staff - outsourced through a placement agency - have not been paid salaries for the past three months and hence they are demotivated.As if this was not enough, there is no back-up generator in the Commission office, even for lighting and computers. There are no professional counsellors to give at least temporary psychological relief to  women in distress and guide them. Sometimes, clerks and attenders double up as counsellors. Worse still, touts - women included - scout for vulnerable women for obvious reasons.Admitting that the repeated change of secretaries has hit the Commission’s day-to-day functioning, KSWC chairperson Manjula told Express that she had single-handedly dealt with about 1,800 petitions  in the last seven months.The Commission gets an average of 300 to 330 petitions every month, which translates into 10 to 12 petitions every day.“I admit that the temporary relief being given to women is not of superior quality due to a staff crunch. It is difficult to go through all the petitions and arrive at a opinion. I have  written to the government to get me a secretary on a permanent basis,” Manjula said.‘Change of rules to solve problems’Women and Child Welfare Minister C C Patil told Express that he would discuss with the chief secretary to amend rules to fix the tenure of the Commission secretary for a minimum period  of two years.”Salary constraints will be solved in a day or two. In fact, I have convened a meeting of department officials and the Commission chairperson to find a solution to the problems,” he added.