Delhi Commission for Women to open a transgender cell: Maliwal

The Delhi Commission for Women will make a manifesto by next week on issues faced by women and send it to political parties to include in their agenda, DCW chief Swati Maliwal said. Maliwal told reporters that there is a need to understand the extent to which women are suffering and in view of the upcoming elections the DCW will be coming up with a women manifesto.

"I will try to meet all political party heads and urge them to include it in their agenda and work on the issues in case they get elected," Maliwal said. She said the DCW will be meeting with experts for the women manifesto and come up with it by next week.

She also advocated for sending rape cases involving MPs and MLAs to fast-track courts. "Such (rape) cases involving MPs and MLAs should be sent to fast track courts and thoroughly probed. If they are proven guilty, the hardest punishment should be given to them," she said, in response to a question on her reaction over the alleged involvement of AAP MLAs in rape cases.

A woman here has alleged that she was raped by the Aam Aadmi Party's Rithala MLA, Mohinder Goyal, two years ago, police said Wednesday. On her party's demand for full statehood, Maliwal said it is not only the demand of the AAP but it could be found in the manifestos of even the Delhi BJP and Congress.

Maliwal, who is currently on a 13-day-long Mahila Suraksha Padyatra, expressed concern over the problem of widespread drug addiction in Delhi. "During the yatra, there was not a single colony where a rampant, open sale of alcohol and drugs was not found. Small children as young as 6 years old could be found addicted to drugs," she said.

"When we contact the police they say this will not happen again but it again happens," she said. Another issue, she said, was the safety of women and police has been constantly contacted by the DCW to look into it.

Expressing concern over the condition of transgenders, Maliwal said the DCW would open a transgender cell to aid them.

(With inputs from agencies.)