UPSC Mains 2017 GS Paper 2 Q15: model answer
Is the National Commission for Women able to strategize and tackle the problems that women face at both public and private spheres? Give reasons in support of your answer.
What the question wants
Judge whether the National Commission for Women can plan and act on women's problems in public and private life, with reasons.
How to structure it
Is ... able ... Give reasons: a reasoned yes-and-no.
- Mandate
- Successes in the public sphere
- Successes in the private sphere
- Limits
- Reforms
How to think it through
Women's problems split into public (workplace, politics, violence in streets) and private (dowry, domestic violence, marital issues). The NCW has a role in both, but it has the powers of an inquiry body only. Give credit where it is due, then show why 'strategise' is hard without funds and enforcement.
Model answer
The National Commission for Women Act, 1990 created the NCW after the Committee on the Status of Women (1974) had shown how far laws lagged behind women's lives.
Mandate
Review laws, inquire into complaints, suo motu cases, legal awareness, and advise government on policy.
Public sphere
- Pushed for the POSH Act, 2013 and the Criminal Law Amendment, 2013.
- Inquiries in high-profile cases of violence; delegations to Manipur in 2023.
- Monitors representation and workplace safety; 'Mahila Jan Sunwai' hearings in districts.
Private sphere
- Family counselling cells and 'Parivarik Mahila Lok Adalats' for matrimonial disputes.
- A 24×7 helpline (7827170170) and an NRI cell for deserted wives.
- Recommendations on dowry, the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005, and acid attack support.
Why it struggles
- Recommendatory powers only; it cannot enforce or punish.
- Dependent on the Ministry of Women and Child Development for funds and staff.
- Members are nominated by the Union government without a selection committee; critics see selective activism in politically convenient cases and silence in others.
- Most complaints concern domestic matters it can only refer to police.
- Weak coordination with State commissions, some of which run without a chairperson for months.
- No independent research wing; it rarely publishes data on how its recommendations fared.
Reforms
- Statutory time limits for governments to act on its reports.
- Representation for NGOs and experts chosen through a transparent committee.
- Research capacity to plan, including gender audits of budgets; a stronger link with State commissions and district bodies.
It has kept women's issues on the agenda, but it reacts more than it plans. Giving it teeth, independence and data would let it strategise in both spheres.
Draw: Two circles, 'public' and 'private', with NCW tools placed in each and the overlap labelled 'violence'.
Keywords, cases and data to drop in
NCW Act 1990, Towards Equality 1974, Section 10 functions, Mahila Jan Sunwai, Parivarik Mahila Lok Adalat, NRI cell, POSH 2013, PWDVA 2005, recommendatory powers.
Where most answers lose marks
- Treating NCW as constitutional. It is statutory (1990).
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Question text as printed in the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) question paper. The model answer is original Battle IAS work; use it to learn structure, not to memorise.
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