‘Separate section for girl students on issues like harassment’

The panel that drafted the policy recommends starting a website to publish information on opportunities for women in education,scholarships,job opportunities,seat reservations,concessions and other schemes.

The panel has also recommended that for women from rural areas and those belonging to scheduled castes,a programme for overall development as per local needs should be made available.

“It is in the field of education and research that we can bring about major changes and enhance the status of women. Through this new women’s policy,we aim at not only providing education to women,but also organise vocational training for them. At the same time,we want to ensure that girl students are safe at the educational institutes,” said Gaikwad.

“We have proposed regular counselling and orientation programmes for girls and boys at the school level,which will help sensitise them. Schools and colleges must organise separate sections for girls to understand if they have experienced sexual harassment in or outside the institute,try and identify their issues and counsel them,” said Gaikwad.

The draft policy has also recommended that universities and boards of studies should establish an independent committee to include gender-sensitivity curriculum. As per the draft,it will be mandatory to have gender sensitivity as a subject in all training programmes,pre-service training and orientation programmes.

Maharashtra’s first policy for empowering women was released in 1994. In 1999,the Congress-NCP government brought out another policy. The latest is the third women’s policy draft released by the state government.