Tamil Nadu’s women-centric policy on paper only, action plan yet to be released

CHENNAI: For the welfare of women, both in the rural and urban regions of the state, the Tamil Nadu government had released the ‘TN State Policy for Women’ (TNPW) in February 2024. More than a year later, the Department of Social Welfare and Women Empowerment is yet to release a Plan of Action (PoA).

In the response to the Right to Information (RTI) petition filed by a city-based activist in late January 2025, it was revealed that preparations for PoA are still under process. The RTI has also confirmed that the PoA for TN State Policy for Children released in 2021 is pending from the government’s end.

Subsequently, the High-Level Women Empowerment Committee (HLWEC), headed by the Chief Secretary with other line departments has not met even once since the release of the policy – one of the mandates cited in TNPW. The RTI reply also mentions that they have slated a meeting this year, almost over a year after the policy was released.

As per the policy, HLWEC is supposed to meet once in six months to review policy implementation to suggest mid-term course correction. The district-level monitoring committee led by the district collector shall overview the implementation once in two months to address challenges. However, such a meeting has still not unfolded, say department sources.

To address the broad spectrum of concerns faced by women in all fields, both in urban and rural sectors, the State government in December 2021 released the draft of the new policy, taking suggestions from different stakeholders. However, the final policy was released only in February 2024.

Speaking to DT Next, Sheelu Francis, president of Women’s Collective, said: “The draft policy is ‘vague’ and excludes women farmers’ and urban women belonging to economically weaker sectors. However, with the State government planning on ‘gender budgeting’, it’s time for the government to announce the PoA. For most policies released by the government, the PoA was pending for them all. PoA is imperative as it fills the gaps in the policies itself.”

Additionally, an independent researcher on gender studies noted that the policy has seldom mentioned sectors such as women farmers’ and women fishers, who mostly belong to rural regions. “With usage of jargons, the policy in itself is vague for non-experts to comprehend,” the researcher added.

With the focus on various aspects and implementation approach, the TN State Policy for Women was released in 2024 to be implemented for 10 years.

The objectives include establishing a gender-sensitive education system to reduce drop out, improving health and nutrition status of adolescent girls and women, increasing women representation in workforce with safe and women-friendly atmosphere both in formal/informal sectors, supporting women startups, promoting digital literacy to bridge gender gap, reducing the skill gap in women and encourage women participation in political spaces.

The policy is planned to be implemented in four interventions – social empowerment, economic empowerment, political empowerment and emotional and mental wellbeing. It would focus on eliminating gender stereotyping and gender bias thriving in families, workplace and in society – through the policy, under the factor of education and research.

Furthermore, under health and sanitation, the policy has been highlighted to improve sex ratio at birth, annual regular health check-up for girls at schools/college/workplace, ensure women’s reproductive rights from right to choose contraception with right to legal and safe abortion and to strengthen geriatric services for women.

Under law, the government will facilitate periodic legal review and administrative reforms through State Law Commission, fast track cases related to Gender Based Violence (GBV) and strengthen services like ‘one stop centres and women helpline.

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State Policy for Women (2024) focuses on…

· Women-headed households (single women, widows & deserted women)

· Women from oppressed communities

· Women engaged in vulnerable occupations like sex workers, rag pickers, conservancy workers, street vendors, head-load vendors, beggars and more

· Women working in rice mills, brick kilns as bonded labourers

· Women with disabilities

· Elderly women

· Women in the organised sector

· Women in informal sectors like domestic workers, daily wage workers, construction workers, salt-pan workers, agricultural labourers and casual labourers from different sectors

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POLICY OBJECTIVES

· Establish a gender-sensitive education system to reduce drop-outs

· Improve health and nutrition status of adolescent girls and women

· Increase women representation in workforce with safe and women-friendly atmosphere both in formal/informal sectors

· Support women start-ups

· Promote digital literacy to bridge gender gap

· Reduce skill-gaps in women

· Encourage women participation in political spaces