Chennai: Husbands who carry out the official duties of their wives, who are elected representatives, are effectively impersonating them, social justice minister Vanni Arasu said at the Women’s Safety and Gender Justice Conference at Ripon Buildings on Wednesday.
The minister said the ‘Singappen’ Special Task Force was launched by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay to improve the safety of women.
GCC commissioner G S Sameeran said the safety of women working in the unorganised sector would be a key focus. Women must come together and become a force for their own safety, he said. Legis, a member of GPL, said the Singappen Special Task Force focuses on enforcement while GPL focuses on prevention. GPL should be established at the district level too, she said.
The conference was organised by theGreater Chennai Corporation’s (GCC) Gender & Policy Lab (GPL) in collaboration with the Women’s Safety and Gender Justice Coalition. The conference was held under the theme ‘Policy on Women’s Safety, Gender Justice and Gender Sensitivity’. Participants discussed setting up complaint boxes for women workers and holding monthly meetings to monitor cases of violence against women, children, transgender persons and persons with disabilities.