New Delhi: Reaffirming her commitment to strengthening access to justice for women, National Commission for Women (NCW) Chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar has announced a nationwide ‘Women’s Public Hearing’ covering 500 districts across the country ahead of International Women’s Day.
Addressing a press conference in Delhi on Friday, she announced the week-long ‘Women’s Public Hearings’ (Women’s Public Hearings) to be organized in collaboration with the State Women’s Commissions.
This initiative is part of the Commission’s signature outreach program, ‘National Commission for Women at Your Doorstep.’ The Chairperson launched it to bring institutional support closer to women and ensure that their grievances are heard and resolved at the grassroots level.
Rahatkar said, “This initiative demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that every woman, no matter where she lives, has access to justice and institutional support. Through these public hearings, we aim to hear women directly, address their grievances, and strengthen trust in the system.”
She added that the Women’s Public Hearings initiative will be held in approximately 500 districts across 25 states and union territories, making it one of the largest systematic public grievance redressal campaigns for women in India.
The Chairperson added, “A significant feature of this initiative is the strong participation of Uttar Pradesh, which will conduct women’s public hearings in 75 districts, ensuring widespread reach to women at the grassroots level. Manipur will also hold five women’s public hearings, which demonstrates the strong engagement of the State Women’s Commission despite difficult circumstances.”
Several other states are also actively participating in this initiative. Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh will conduct hearings in five districts each from March 9-13, while Kerala and Manipur will conduct hearings in five districts each. Tripura will conduct women’s public hearings in all eight districts between March 8-13, Odisha will conduct public hearings in eight districts between March 6-23, Nagaland will conduct hearings in 11 districts between March 9-13, and Uttarakhand will conduct public hearings in five districts between March 9-13.
Rahatkar emphasized the crucial role of State Women’s Commissions, whose participation is strengthening the reach and impact of this nationwide initiative.
In states where the position of Chairperson of the State Women’s Commission is currently vacant, the Chairperson of the National Commission for Women will personally conduct hearings and ensure that women in these areas also have direct access to the grievance redressal mechanism. These states include Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, and Jharkhand.
Through this effort across the country, the Women’s Commission aims to address and resolve approximately 15,000 complaints, including both walk-in complaints and registered cases, ensuring timely assistance to women and strengthening institutional response mechanisms.
The Chairperson said that International Women’s Day reminds us that empowerment must mean genuine access to justice and opportunity for women. The Women’s Public Hearings initiative, covering 500 districts, is a major step towards ensuring that women’s voices are heard and their concerns are addressed promptly.
She said that the NCW is committed to building a society where every woman feels heard, safe, and empowered.
