Sri Vijaya Puram, Nov. 21: The National Commission for Women will organise a National Consultation on “Laws Relating to Women in Prison” tomorrow (Nov. 22) in A&N Islands as part of its nationwide review for 2025–26. The consultation aims to identify urgent reforms needed to strengthen the rights, welfare, and dignity of women inmates across India. This flagship initiative is being led by Hon’ble Chairperson, NCW, Smt. Vijaya Rahatkar.
Women constitute 4.3% of the prison population, yet in many States they continue to face significant systemic barriers, including overcrowded facilities, inadequate medical and mental-health services, lack of gender-sensitive infrastructure, poor hygiene, and heightened safety vulnerabilities.
The National Consultation will bring together experts, prison administrators, and policymakers to deliberate on critical reforms.
To ensure inclusivity and representation, NCW conducted eight Regional Consultations in Noida, Panaji, Aizwal, Patna, Bhopal, Patiala, Hyderabad, and Dehradun. These consultations generated over 300 expert recommendations, of which 205 key proposals will now be taken up at the National Consultation.
Deliberations will focus on key legislations including the Model Prison Act 2023, Prison Act 1894, Model Prison Manual 2016, Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2019, and the Repatriation of Prisoners Act 2003.
Core themes include gender-sensitive correctional systems, improved medical and mental-health support, rights of incarcerated mothers and their children, safe accommodation for transgender inmates, and humane treatment of foreign national prisoners. The recommendations emerging from the consultation will contribute to NCW’s final report to the Government of India.
During her visit, the Hon’ble Chairperson, NCW, Smt. Vijaya Rahatkar, also led several important initiatives aimed at strengthening women’s safety and empowerment at the grassroots in the Islands. The Chairperson held a meeting with Admiral D K Joshi, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, NM, VSM, (Retd.), Hon’ble Lt. Governor, A&N Islands and Vice-Chairman, Islands Development Agency at Raj Niwas to discuss ongoing initiatives and the future roadmap for strengthening women’s welfare across the UT. A review meeting with the DGP, Shri Hargobinder Singh Dhaliwal, and the police leadership to assess existing safety mechanisms, enhance policing responses, and strengthen institutional coordination for women’s safety was also held. NCW organized a Gender Sensitization Workshop for Police Personnel in Sri Vijaya Puram to enhance police awareness, sensitivity, and responsiveness in handling cases related to women, a Campus Calling Programme engaging students on gender rights and cyber safety, launched the Yashoda AI Programme for building women’s AI-based skills and digital independence. A high-level meeting with the Chief Secretary and senior officers to review women-centric schemes was also held. Interacts with women leaders under the ‘She is a Change Maker’ programme, MSME women clusters, and beneficiaries.
Through these extensive engagements and the upcoming National Consultation, NCW reaffirmed its commitment to building a safe, inclusive, and gender-just ecosystem for women in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and across India.
