Kerala Plans Women-Friendly Measures, To Focus On Safe Accommodation

In a progressive move, the Kerala government has decided to make the state women-friendly with some new initiatives. One of the initiatives is to set up a ‘One-Day Home’ in Thiruvananthapuram so women visiting the city can stay in a safe place.

During a meeting of leaders of various women's organisations, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the government is working towards increasing safety for women at workplace and improve facilities at Nirbhaya centres, destitute homes, care homes and orphanages.

He also mentioned that rest houses, especially for women, will be built in public spaces and that cases of harassment and crimes against women will be taken more seriously than ever before.

Health and Social Welfare Minister K K Shailaja agreed with the CM on the ‘One-Day Home’ initiative and said that it would be a great relief for women who are visiting the city for a short period of time. The money allocated for the One-Day home project is Rs 30.56 lakh, said the minister, as reported by Indian Express.

Apart from this, better toilet facilities for women at petrol pump outlets is another initiative that the government will ensure in the coming times in Kerala, said the Chief Minister. Also, women advocates as prosecutors in sexual abuse cases that fall under the POCSO Act will be appointed by the government to make sure victims of such cases get due justice.

Earlier in June, the state cabinet decided to form a separate department for the welfare of women and children to ensure equal justice to women and security to them from gender bias and attacks. Vijayan had put up a Facebook post where he wrote, “The demand for a separate department for women and children has been there for a long time. Gender auditing and coordination of women-centric programmes initiated by other departments would be among the responsibilities of the new department.”

Picture credit- Manorama Online