15 Percent Reservation for Women

Why in news:

• Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory's Lieutenant Governor recently announced 15 percent reservation for women in the non-gazetted posts in police.
• The announcement was made on the occasion of National Girl Child Day.

Key Points:

• The Lieutenant Governor added that the 15% reservation is just the beginning and the government is determined and committed to increase it further in the future.
• With the move, the Jammu and Kashmir government administration has tried to show that it is committed to ensuring Nari Shaktis’ social and economic empowerment while redressing long-standing inequalities to build a more just and resilient society.
• The initiative will definitely prove to be a positive step forward for women and girls to be agents of change.
• The step of 15 % reservation for women in Jammu and Kashmir Police will give due representation to women in the Police force and will ensure the availability of sufficient women personnel to engage exclusively in the matter of gender-based crimes.
• The move will lay the foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable society, as per the administration.
• Despite several assurances before 2019, the matter of reservation for women in J&K Police was never addressed.
• At present, without any exclusive reservation, women constitute 3% of the total strength of Jammu and Kashmir Police and the numbers will increase after the reservation is implemented in future recruitments as per the officials concerned.
  
  
  
   

National Girl Child Day

• The National Girl Child Day is celebrated in India every year on January 24th.
• It was initiated in 2008 by the Ministry of Women and Child Development and the Government of India, in order to spread public awareness about inequities that girls face in Indian society.
• The day is celebrated with organized programs including awareness campaigns about Save the Girl Child, child sex ratios, and the creation of a healthy and safe environment for girls. In 2019, the day was celebrated with the theme, 'Empowering Girls for a Brighter Tomorrow'
• In 2019, the theme was 'Empowering Girls for a Brighter Tomorrow'.
• It was ‘My voice, our common future’ in 2020.
• In 2021, the theme for National Girl Child Day was ‘Digital Generation, Our Generation’.