Women in the state have been left orphaned with the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government’s tardy treatment of the State Women’s Commission (SWC), which has been non-functional without a chairperson since October last year.
The important post, which is directly linked to the welfare of suffering women, fell empty after the term of the incumbent, Theilin Phanbuh, ended. Three months have been allowed to lapse with the commission in a coma without a leader.
Sources say that during November a group of women had met the Minister of Social Welfare, Kyrmen Shylla, to ask him to expedite the appointment of the chairperson and constitute a new body of members immediately.
“He had told us then that ‘everything is ready’, but that was in November last year,” one of the women told Highland Post when asked about the process.
Rape, especially of minor girls, murder, suicides, domestic violence and sexual harassment are being reported almost daily in the media. Besides these crimes, women are facing the brunt of malnutrition and negligence as Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma himself announced that “five mothers and 30 children die every week in Meghalaya due to different situations,” which is a horrendous figure by any standard. This means that 20 women and 120 children die every month, which shows that women are facing the brunt of the failure of the government in maintaining health infrastructure and nutrition.
The SWC has, in the past, failed to take up these policy lapses with the government, but concerned persons spoken to said they hoped that the government, particularly Shylla, would be wise enough to choose a chairperson who is equipped with all the qualifications and temperament to take up the responsibilities of the commission in these times of extreme stress under global pandemic conditions.
