NCW Chairperson’s Visit to Address Women’s Concerns After Recent Violence

Vijaya Rahatkar, the chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW), will visit West Bengal’s Malda and Murshidabad districts for two days starting Friday. Her trip aims to look into refugee camps and areas hit by recent communal violence. This violence happened on April 11 and 12 during protests against the Waqf Act, a law about managing Muslim properties.

The NCW has stepped in to investigate what occurred. Rahatkar said they will talk to women affected by the violence because there are concerns about how they are being treated in the camps. The team will first go to Malda, checking on the relief camps and talking to the women there. They will also meet with important officials to understand how they are helping the people affected.

After spending the night in Malda, the team will move to Murshidabad on Saturday morning. There, they will meet with the district magistrate, police chief, and other officials, and also speak with the local residents who have been impacted by the violence.

On Sunday, the NCW team plans to meet the Governor of West Bengal, the chief secretary, and the head of police back in Kolkata. Rahatkar emphasized that the main focus of the NCW is to ensure the safety and dignity of women who have been affected by these awful events. It is reported that three people lost their lives in the violence in Murshidabad, an area with a large Muslim population. The fighting started during protests against changes to the Waqf Act.