Its Section 10 Functions

In one line

Section 10(1) gives the Commission thirteen functions, and it is a materially wider jurisdiction than any other group commission on this paper has.

The thirteen functions

(a) investigate and examine all matters relating to the safeguards provided for women under the Constitution and other law;

(b) present to the Central Government, annually and at such other times as the Commission may deem fit, reports upon the working of those safeguards;

(c) make in such reports recommendations for the effective implementation of those safeguards for improving the conditions of women by the Union or any State;

(d) review, from time to time, the existing provisions of the Constitution and other laws affecting women and recommend amendments thereto so as to suggest remedial legislative measures to meet any lacunae, inadequacies or shortcomings in such legislations;

(e) take up the cases of violation of the provisions of the Constitution and of other laws relating to women with the appropriate authorities;

(f) look into complaints and take suo moto notice of matters relating to the deprivation of women's rights, the non-implementation of laws enacted to provide protection to women and to achieve the objective of equality and development, and the non-compliance of policy decisions, guidelines or instructions aimed at mitigating hardships and ensuring welfare and providing relief to women, and take up the issues arising out of such matters with appropriate authorities;

(g) call for special studies or investigations into specific problems or situations arising out of discrimination and atrocities against women and identify the constraints so as to recommend strategies for their removal;

(h) undertake promotional and educational research so as to suggest ways of ensuring due representation of women in all spheres and identify factors responsible for impeding their advancement, such as lack of access to housing and basic services, inadequate support services and technologies for reducing drudgery and occupational health hazards and for increasing their productivity;

(i) participate and advise on the planning process of socio-economic development of women;

(j) evaluate the progress of the development of women under the Union and any State;

(k) inspect or cause to be inspected a jail, remand home, women's institution or other place of custody where women are kept as prisoners or otherwise, and take up with the concerned authorities for remedial action, if found necessary;

(l) fund litigation involving issues affecting a large body of women; and

(m) make periodical reports to the Government on any matter pertaining to women and in particular various difficulties under which women toil.

The four functions no other commission on this paper has

Suo moto notice, in clause (f). The Commission may act on its own motion, which answers the claimant problem for the largest group on the paper. The Minorities Commission's clause (d) speaks only of specific complaints.