Maneka Gandhi unveils new policy for women

New Delhi: Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi on Tuesday unveiled the draft National Policy for Women 2016, Awhich focuses on issues like housing, issues related to single women, and cyber crime against of women. The policy has been put up on the ministry website for recommendations. [caption id=“attachment_2613990” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Maneka Gandhi. File photo. AFP[/caption] The new policy will enable the government to recognise single women — “divorced, widowed and unmarried women” — as independent entities. Noting the last national policy on women was formulated was in 2001, Gandhi said: “This policy has come after 15 years… The attitude of women towards themselves has changed. “Fifteen years ago, women were happy to get what they were given. Now we demand… and our demands are more defined.” The draft policy says maternal and pre-natal mortality remains a key priority, but also focuses on issues like “gender transformative health strategy”, which recognises women’s reproductive rights with a shift. The draft, as an example, cited shifting the focus of family planning from female sterilisation to male sterilisation. It also calls for ushering in changes in the societal attitude towards women and usher in behavioural changes involving men and boys and institutions of family and women’s organisations.