Chairperson of the National Commission for Women Rekha Sharma on Tuesday met Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari in Mumbai and discussed issues related to women in the state, including 'rising cases of Love Jihad'.
Sharma claimed that there was a rise in the cases of Love Jihad in Maharashtra, a statement from the NCW said.
She also spoke about the need to appoint a full-time head for the state commission for women, it said.
Sharma told governor there was a rise in cases of "Love Jihad" in the state and highlighted the distinction between consensual inter-faith marriages and Love Jihad, stating that the latter required attention, the release said.
The term 'Love Jihad' is used by some right-wing commentators to allege that there is a conspiracy to lure Hindu women and convert them through inter-faith marriage.
The NCW chief also pointed out that some 4,000 complaints have not been attended to because the state women's commission does not have a chairperson.
Fourteen 'one-stop centres' in the state, set up to provide single point of contact to victims of sexual and domestic abuse, were defunct, Sharma told the governor.
These centres were set up after the 2012 Delhi gangrape incident, and are supposed to provide medical, legal, social and psychological aid to victims.
As per the release, The NCW chief also stressed the need to enact a law akin to the Disha Act in Andhra Pradesh which provides for speedy trial of crimes against women and harsh punishment.
"Some 188 cases filed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act are pending beyond the statutory three-month period. This should be looked into on priority," Sharma said.
CCTV cameras be put up inside COVID-19 care centres and strict background checks be conducted at these facilities, the NCW chief said, in apparent refernce to instances of women patients getting assaulted or molested.
Sharma also enquired into the status of the defunct One Stop Centres and sought their immediate reopening.
"Some 188 cases filed under POCSO are pending beyond the statutory three month period. This should be looked into on priority," Sharma was quoted as saying in the statement.
During her visit she met several women's rights groups and NGOs to get a sense of the severity of the issue and the on-ground reality faced by women in Maharashtra.
