April 5, 2016: On a bright sunny afternoon, we made our way to the office of Chairperson, Rajasthan State Commission for Women (RSCW) at the Jaipur Family Court, situated on Tonk Road. We were eager to have a rendezvous with Mrs. Suman Sharma, previously a state executive member, and talk about her new position and the powers that came along with it.

Mrs. Suman Sharma has dedicated life towards the betterment of women in the state. A few days ago, she provided three girls from Mahila Niketan an opportunity to accompany her to the Vidhan Sabha and get a chance to step into the Ministers’ shoes. They saw first-hand how the government functions and were even given the power to sign and sanction 90 hand pumps, worth Rs.1.3Cr.

A couple of days later, she asked her entire department to bring their daughters to work along with them, and make them assume their parents’ positions for the day. JWB witnessed this extraordinary event up close and personal:

The main event of bring-your-daughter-to-work day kicked off when Mrs. Sharma stepped down from her throne and let Akshira, fondly known as Gauri, take her place. Gauri was unaware of the magnitude of the power held by the chair, but Mrs. Sharma was determined to make her welcome its supremacy.

Mrs. Sharma’s PA brought along his two daughters as well, who carried out their father’s duties in a highly diligent manner. They laid down important papers in front of Gauri, and she authorized the orders with her signature. After all, she was the Chairperson for the day, and her name held the power to change a million lives for the better.

Gauri authorized three orders, one of them being a letter to the Zila Collector of Sawai Madhopur. Gauri slowly realized that her signature was about to put a lot of things in motion.

She described her experience as: “I learned that I too can do a lot in life. And I will become a doctor.”

Upon asking her about the purpose behind this event, she said: “Taaki bachiyon ko padha sakhe, sikha sakhe”

Gauri then proceeded to step down and let Mrs. Sharma explain the concept, her work, and her mission.

The event

I wanted the girls to know more about the kind of work their parents do every day and make them aware of the amount of hard work and dedication required to have a successful career. It is a way to motivate girls to study hard and become independent. At the same time, it conveys a message that girls are not just born to get married and have babies. They too have the capacity to dream big and occupy powerful positions to bring a positive change in the society.

Her work

Our primary aim is to protect women and provide them with support and assistance of any kind. Women can come up to us with their problems, and our counselors will help them out in any way. They can contact us directly through our helpline, which functions 24×7.

Every Wednesday, we even have a “Jan Sunvayi” where we take a variety of cases to the police station and try to resolve them. As a result, nearly 13,000 pending cases have been solved in a matter of a couple of months.

In addition to this, we wish to provide family counseling as well. We have gotten three cases in three months where the girls were getting repeatedly raped by their fathers, with their mother’s consent. There is a lot of ugliness festering in our society, and we are trying to combat it every day.

Her goals

To advocate zero-tolerance policies when it comes to cases related to women. In addition to that, there is a dire need to spread social and legal awareness among women. This awareness can help in family planning, self-protection, etc.

Her course of action

There are primarily three courses of action that are in the works:

Firstly, we are planning to visit schools and colleges regularly in order to provide counseling to BOTH girls and boys. Mental ‘nutrition’ is extremely important, in the form of awareness, and mutual respect. For that, we plan to establish partnerships with a multitude of schools and colleges.

Secondly, we are trying to come with new ways of disseminating legal awareness and self-defense techniques among women.

And thirdly, we are just waiting to launch our “Mahila Suraksha” 24×7 App, through which we aim to provide live assistance and support to women with just a click.

Also, the Magistrate has a tendency to twist a woman’s words, rendering her powerless. To stop that, we have even lodged a plea to undertake video recording at the time of confessions.

Her motto

“Save daughter, save water and save Earth.” In the absence of women and water, the Earth will cease to function. The human race shall perish!

The Mobile App

Our App shall act as a safety guard for women. It shall function 24×7, and be connected to police stations through GPS.

Settling of disputes

We have been meeting aggrieved couples in person as well, to better understand their situation and settle disputes. In one case, we helped the couple get a mess-free divorce within a couple of days, and in one case, we enabled the couple to see their own shortcomings and subsequently re-united them.

In case there is a dispute with the police, we do not hesitate to intervene and set things straight.

JWB finds Mrs. Suman Sharma’s idea of bringing your daughters to work, as an excellent initiative. It holds the power to impart practical knowledge to your daughters and instill in them the importance of being financially independent and successful at the same time.