Proposed women’s policy in Maharashtra includes LGBTQIA+ persons

The policy aims at prioritising gender integration in public transport systems, infrastructure and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), and facilitate optimum participation of women and transgender pesons in the economy (including the care economy)

Mumbai: The proposed women’s policy in Maharashtra which was presented to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday will include LGBTQIA+ persons.

Yashomati Thakur, minister, women and child development, confirmed that the policy, which had been titled ‘Policies and Strategies on Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women’ included this principle. (StockPic)

The policy aims at prioritising gender integration in public transport systems, infrastructure and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), and facilitate optimum participation of women and transgender pesons in the economy (including the care economy).

Yashomati Thakur, minister, women and child development, confirmed that the policy, which had been titled ‘Policies and Strategies on Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women’ included this principle. A task force will be set up under the women and child development minister to ensure the implementation of the policy, a high-power committee under the chief minister will oversee its implementation.

A meeting and presentation about the draft policy was conducted before the CM on Friday which also covers single mothers, women in live-in relationships, victims of acid attacks and informal sector workers. The policy also proposes to engage extensively with men and boys in promoting gender equality and to overcome gender discriminatory social norms and cultural practices. Gender responsive education will be introduced across curricula with sensitisation of staff.

Maharashtra is among the first states to have a women’s policy. The first policy was released in 1994, followed by revised policies in 1999 and March 2014. Earlier, the women and child development department had appointed a committee to review the provisions of the 2014 policy and suggest revisions to it.

Interestingly, the references to the term family or household in the policy includes those headed by women and LGBTQIA+ persons.

It will try to establish mechanisms to strengthen women and transgender persons representation and participation in all governance and administrative institutions including in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and urban governance, statutory committees, missions, commissions, state-run corporations, cooperative sector and political parties.

Specific provisions have been proposed for women and girls from ST and SC groups, religious minorities, de-notified and nomadic tribes, Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) and Project Affected Persons (PAP), women with physical and mental disabilities, senior citizens, Commercial Sex Workers (CSWs), women in distress, single mothers, beggars, and informal sector workers.

The 2014 policy gave women an option to use either the father’s name or the husband’s name in official documents, while the children had the option to use either their mother’s or their father’s name in these records.