National Commission for Women or political puppets?

Where is the National Commission of Women that was so critical of Somnath Bharti’s raid in Khirki? The women supposedly assaulted in the raid, whom they were so concerned about who filed a complaint over being mistreated by the crowd have filed a far graver complaint. That of being entrapped and exploited for prostitution. Harish Salve, their humanitarian protector has vanished. Because of course, giving urine samples is an atrocity. Entrapping women in a foreign country and forcing them into prostitution cannot really be called abuse. Hain na?

The NCW, that had time to comment on Kejriwal’s protests causing inconvenience and being “childish” are now so busy with the Birbhum Gang Rape, that the Ugandan women under their magnanimous protection complaining of such a grave crime against them has gone unnoticed. The Ministry of External Affairs, so determined to fight for the rights of those women assaulted by government representatives no longer think it relevant to their office if officials from the Ugandan High Commission in Delhi are being accused of running a prostitution racket – which is probably a polite way of saying human trafficking for prostitution, if the women’s passports were taken away and they were left with little choice but to prostitute themselves to survive.

I have said this before, and I am saying it again. The Women’s Commissions are useless bodies eating public funds and serving their political masters rather than actively working for women. Women with strong motivations to shield people on one side of the political spectrum, or those they deem should be shielded have no business being responsible for the rights of all women regardless of who harms them.

How is it that there is no serious action after allegation of collusion between High Commission officials and Delhi Police in running prostitution and drug trafficking cartels? It is still understandable that this cronyism means that Somnath Bharti’s complaints must be ignored, by order or some such nonsense, but what about the women who have filed complaints? Are they going to make news as victims and left to service Delhi’s elites again, or is the NCW going to eventually get around to rescuing them and sending them home safely?

The real question here is why the plight of the Ugandan women was known to workers of the Aam Aadmi Party, who supposedly assaulted them, instead of the National Women’s Commission? Where was their lawyer? Sannata. Media is engrossed in picking lint from their collective navel. Same media that hounded Tarun Tejpal over allegations of what was, until recently sexual harassment. Same media that found the compassion in them to “sensitively” report the lives of the Delhi Gang Rape accused, interview parents claiming innocence, wife pleading for mercy for husband find it outrageous that Tejpal or anyone affiliated with him can claim his innocence. But it isn’t outrageous if police and High Commission officials engaging in trafficking.

On a side note, notice the lack of media outrage. Apparently the “crime” of “accosting” those women in the presence of women constables and forcing them to undergo tests in a hospital is larger than the crime of taking away their passports and forcing them into a life of prostitution.

National Commission for Women is now seeking an extension of tenure from 3 years to 5 years for queen bee Mamta Sharma, more funds to do more for women, and “punitive powers” over governments for not complying with their recommendations. It is ironic that the party that laughed at the idea of a Lokpal with power over CMs hold the strings of these jokers demanding this. The only reason this isn’t unconstitutional while the Lokpal supposedly was is that the punishments aren’t likely to do any real damage to the profiteering politicians.

In the meanwhile, no one really has any idea what the National Commission for Women does at all, in a country with rapidly deteriorating rights of women, rising crime against them, and exactly zero efforts to get any public messages out. There are no serious efforts of any sort to bring accountability to public figures making derogatory comments about women. The utter casualness of the correspondence revealed through RTI between this Mamta Sharma and the Prime Minister after Jaiswal said while addressing a women’s college “As time passes, the joy of the victory fades, just like a wife”. It verged on the “be careful” and “ok” with no serious actions seeked.

On the contrary, Nirmala Vyankatesh was fired after blaming the Manglore pub attack victims. Alka Lamba leaked the name of the victim of the Guwahati Gang rape. Mamta Sharma, who is currently asking for her tenure to be increased from 3 years to 5 years advocated women dress properly to prevent rape. Not only have her own actions been beyond casual in the face of the gravity of crimes that come to her attention, she failed to keep others in the commission sensitive to victims of those crimes. Now they want more tenure, more money, more power to punish governments it seems. Kaha kaha se chale aate hain.

Why should this joker earn any more payment on public salary? What has she done that India deserves to be inflicted with a leech like this?

I predict it will be two days before media starts to cover the “lavish lifestyles” of foreign prostitutes or something rather than report the serious developments that embarrass the central government and their precious Delhi Police that are part of Delhi’s crime problem. One week later, the debate will turn to how they weren’t doing it unwillingly, and it is wrong to risk international row over human trafficking unless their name is Khobragade.