Shillong: The Meghalaya State Commission for Women has been without a chairperson, social welfare minister Kyrmen Shylla informed on Tuesday.
He added that the committee would meet soon to decide the appointment of the MSCW chairperson and members.
Shylla said that the committee would examine the names submitted from various districts once the Chief Minister is available.
When asked about the delay since the previous chairperson’s tenure ended in October last year, Shylla said some districts could not submit names in time.
Thma U Rangli Juki (TUR) had recently urged Chief Minister Conrad Sangma to set up a committee to facilitate the formation of the new women commission after the expiry of the previous chairperson’s tenure.
“We urge you to prioritize the formation of a search and selection committee that will facilitate the formation of the new Commission that will stand with the women of the state in their struggle to realise all their constitutional rights and be able to participate fully in the democratic and developmental life of the state,” said TUR member Angela Rangad.
Calling it unfortunate, Rangad said, “This has greatly affected women who have been seeking redressal on issues of violence, abandonment, maintenance etc and denial of constitutional rights and for whom the Commission should have been readily accessible”.
Meghalaya “boasts of a matrilineal setup but ironically has one of the highest rates of domestic violence in the region, high maternal mortality rate as well as instances of teen pregnancies,” Rangad added.
