Nomination of Pramila Mallik as Odisha’s first woman Speaker

• Posted on September 22, 2023
• Daily Current Affairs

Nomination of Pramila Mallik as Odisha’s first woman Speaker

Context 

Odisha is making history by nominating Pramila Malik as the state’s first woman speaker.

What was the role of Odisha in enhancing women’s empowerment?

• Early Years: Odisha has a long history of rich cultural heritage that frequently honoured the place of women in society. Women made great contributions to the arts, literature, government, and other spheres of life.
• Women’s Education: In Odisha, schools and other educational institutions for women were first established in the early 19th century. Prominent reformers stressed the value of education for women, such as Utkalamani Gopabandhu Das.
• Social Reform Movements: In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, organizations like the Brahmo Samaj and Arya Samaj promoted education and women’s rights. Leaders like Madhusudan Das and Radhanath Ray played a crucial role in advancing social change and women’s education.
• Legislative Initiatives: After the constitutional revisions in the early 1990s, Odisha was one of the first states to implement the 33% reservation for women in panchayati raj institutions. This reservation was added in 1991 as a result of an amendment to the Odisha Grama Panchayats Act.
•  Mission Shakti: To empower women through self-help groups (SHGs), Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik introduced Mission Shakti in 2001. To enable women to participate in activities that generate revenue, Mission Shakti sought to offer them resources, training, and financial support.

What were the features of the 73rd Amendment of the Constitution?

• Three-Tier System: At the rural level, the 73rd Amendment established a three-tier system of Panchayati Raj Institutions:
  1. Village-level Gram Panchayat.
  2. Panchayat Samiti (block or taluka) at the intermediate level.
  3. District-level Zila Parishad.
• Reservation for Marginalized Groups: To ensure the sufficient representation of Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and women in PRIs, seats for these groups needed to be reserved. Women were given preference for one-third of the seats.
• Minimum Age: This law imposed an age restriction for candidates running in PRI elections. Typically, candidates for PRI elections must be at least 21 years old.
• State Election Commissions: The amendment called for the formation of State Election Commissions to oversee the impartial conduct of PRI elections.
• Finance Commission: The State Finance Commission was mandated to be established by the Governor to make recommendations regarding the rules governing the allocation of funds between the state government and PRIs.

What are the features of the 74th Amendment of the Constitution?

•  The 74th Amendment established a system of three different sorts of urban local bodies (ULBs) in urban areas:
  1. Smaller urban areas have Nagar Panchayats.
  2. Cities for more populous urban regions.
  3. Municipal Corporations for significant metro areas.
• Reservation for Marginalized Groups: The 74th Amendment required that seats in ULBs be reserved for SCs, STs, and women, much like the 73rd Amendment did. Women were given preference for one-third of the seats.
• Minimum age: It created a minimum age limit for candidates running in ULB elections, which is typically set at 21 years old.
• Mandatory Committees: To maintain decentralized planning and governance, the amendment mandated the creation of several mandatory committees inside ULBs, including the Ward Committee, District Planning Committee, and Metropolitan Planning Committee.
• Functions and Powers: It described the duties and authority of ULBs, particularly those connected to infrastructure development, municipal financing, and urban planning.

What is Mission Shakti?

• Mission Shakti is an integrated women empowerment programme which was launched as an umbrella scheme for the safety, security and empowerment of women.
• The scheme was launched to be completed during the 15th Finance Commission period i.e., 2021-22 to 2025-26.
• The norms of ‘Mission Shakti’ became applicable with effect from 01.04.2022.
• It aims to address issues affecting women on a life-cycle continuum basis by making them equal partners in nation-building through convergence and citizen ownership.

‘Components of Mission Shakti

Mission Shakti’ has been divided into two sub-schemes.

Sambal

• The “Sambal” sub-scheme is enacted to improve the safety and security of women.
• The scheme will improve accessibility and integrate all efforts and various government initiatives towards improving the safety and protection of women.
• It is also aimed at securing women’s rights and entitlements to comprehensive continuous care.
• It will also support women affected by violence and in distress and assist them in re-emerging as integrated partners in nation-building.
• ‘Sambal’ sub-scheme will also incorporate the erstwhile schemes of, One Stop Centre (OSC), Women Helpline (WHL), Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP).
• It will also include a new component of Nari Adalats which are women’s collectives to promote and facilitate alternative dispute resolution and gender justice in society and within families.

Samarthya

• The scheme will improve accessibility to various government services available for women at various levels through reinforcement.
• It will also promote convergence for the development and empowerment of women.
• The scheme is aimed towards social, cultural, political, and economic development and empowerment of women.
• ‘Samarthya’ sub-scheme will incorporate erstwhile schemes of Ujjwala, Swadhar Greh, Working Women Hostel has been included with modifications, National Creche Scheme for children of working mothers, Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) under the umbrella of ICDS.