NEW YORK, JAN 27: Monday was a grey, wintry day for New Yorkers, but the UN building in New York witnessed a flurry of activity thanks to the special Security Council session on Africa which brought half dozen African presidents, including Congo's elusive strong man, Laurent Desire Kabila, to Manhattan. In the flurry of presidential bodyguards and limousines, it was easy to ignore a more low-profile session that was going on in one of the conference halls.. Yet, it was significant enough for India. The country was presenting its Initial Report to the Convention on the Elimination of All Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Committee.India ratified this Convention, billed as the most important international treaty governing women's rights, in June 1993. It defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end it. Speaking on behalf of the Indian government, Kiran Agarwal, secretary, Department of Women and Child, presented the report that must be submittedperiodically.The Indian Constitution, Aggarwal pointed out to the 23-member Committee, establishes the principle of gender equality and provided for action to engender it. She also added that making this concept a reality was one of the major challenges facing the nation.The adverse male-female ratio was of course a matter of concern, especially since according to all trends this gap is going to increase. Trafficking in women and children, the wide prevalence of HIV/AIDS, the high dropout rate of girl children from schools, the poor visibility of women workers in the informal and unorganised sectors were some of the problems in the report.There was also a fair amount of self-congratulation, as Aggarwal spoke about the innovative measures the Indian government has undertaken to improve the status of women. Among the achievements thus showcased were the Panchayati Raj legislation reserving 33 per cent reservations for women in local bodies and the setting up of the National Commission for Women tooversee cases and review legal safeguards. India was serious about improving the condition of women. However, if the august body was impressed, it certainly did not show it. Although they were polite, congratulating India for its democratic polity and its progressive jurisprudence, over a space of four hours much beyond the scheduled time, it raised uncomfortable questions and demanded difficult answers.One of the sticking points referred to the reservations India raised even while ratifying CEDAW. This was with regard to Article 16.2 of the Convention, that calls for equality within marriage. India's official position on this is hat it will abide by the provision ``in conformity with its policy of non-interference in the personal affairs of any community without its initiative and consent''.This position came for some sharp comment from the Committee. Feride Acar, the rapporteur for the session, observed that the tendency to leave reform to communities could become a sanction for keeping things theway they are. ``This is not only incompatible with the rights of women but represents a breach of principles of this Convention,'' she said.Another committee member, Savitri Goornesekere, a vice-chancellor from Sri Lanka, argued that enacted a civil code need not nullify community law. She felt India should go ahead and enact a secular family law while allowing various communities the choice of whether they wish to be ruled by it or not.Salma Khan, an former senior bureaucrat from Bangladesh, and a CEDAW member, urged India to take a cue from Islamic nations like Bangladesh, which have introduced wide-ranging reform in family law.For the seven-member Indian delegation it must have been a little like being in school again and being hauled over the coals by a particularly tough headmistress. This was one New York visit that was certainly no perk. The next few days should see them frantically marshalling data and information as they prepare to reply to their interlocutors Monday next.The Chairpersonof the Committee, the gracious Aida Gonzalez tried to sweeten the bitter pill somewhat. ``Your country is a very great one. That is why it is especially important to understand the situation of women there,'' she said, smiling sweetly at the Indian delegation.But this was not all. The CEDAW Committee raised numerous questions about condition of Indian women. They wanted to know why the promise India had made at the Beijing women's conference, of earmarking six per cent of GDP for education has not happened, and why the promised Women's Bill was not passed.They wanted the National Commission of Women to be regarded as an important mechanism in delivering justice to women and argued for gender sensitisation of police and jail personnel to prevent custodial violence. Draconian laws in situations of armed conflict came in for adverse comment. It was felt that women and children were often the worst hit in such conditions and it was vital that justice be done to them. Clearly, these were women who had donetheir homework.If one wanted to know whether domestic workers in India were protected by social insurance, another demanded to be informed about why Dalit women were being attacked in Bihar and yet another asked what was being done to protect women from the ravages of pan masala! Turn by turn, even while they commended various measures, they did not turn down the burner. Quite obviously dissatisfied with the information on offer. Give us more data, give us more evidence, was the general tenor of that long afternoon.
