V.M. Salgaocar College of Law (VMSCL), Goa, in collaboration with the National Commission for Women (NCW), successfully held the Western Region Consultative Workshop on “Laws Realigned to Women in Prisons” recently.
Dr. Shaber Ali, Principal of VMSCL, expressed pride that the college was selected as one of the seven regional venues by NCW for this significant Consultative program.
Dr. Ali highlighted the college’s ability to bring together a diverse group of stakeholders, including Judges, Police officials, Prison officers, Public prosecutors, Advocates, NGO representatives, Activists, and academicians, all of whom served as expert panelists representing the Western Region. The discussions and deliberations among these experts were focused on reviewing and realigning legal frameworks concerning women in prisons. The outcome of these discussions will be compiled into a report, which will be submitted to the NCW in New Delhi for further deliberations and potential policy enhancements.
The Member Secretary of Goa State Legal Services, Judge Shabnam Shaikh, discussed and highlighted the current situation in Goa Jails and legal aid mechanism and stressed on the importance of laws and their implementation.
The Chief guest for the said workshop was Dr. Varun Kapoor, Special DGP, Madhya Pradesh, who clearly mentioned that as per records of 2024, out of 573220 jail inmates almost 4.1 % are women of which 17064 women inmates have their kids staying with them. He also analsysed that there are problems of overcrowding, traumatic experiences which should be changed through reforms.
Manmohan Varma, Law Officer at the National Commission for Women (NCW) in New Delhi in his address highlighted the need for improving the condition of Women Prisons, specially to review the existing consultation where he opined various challenges of Women prisoners will be discussed. He emphasised that each year, the Commission focuses on a specific issue affecting women, and for this year, the theme revolves around the laws concerning women in prisons. He further mentioned that this event marks the second program organised at the college, underscoring the importance of continued awareness and discussion around women’s legal rights and protections. Dr. Sonal Sardessai, Assistant Professor, VMSCL, proposed the vote of thanks. The inaugural programme was compered by Prapti and Mahima Naik.
