SHILLONG, Oct 31 ? Representatives from 28 women NGOs under the umbrella organization Lympung Ki Seng Kynthei on Friday walked out of the State level NGO Consultation organised by the National Commission for Women in protest against political appointment of the Meghalaya Women Commission by the State Government.
The State Women Commission was notified on the evening of October 27 and made public. The next day on the eve of the visit by the NGOs to the state to hold consultations with the women NGOs to find out the status of the weaker sex in matrilineal Meghalaya.
Placards saying ?We want transparency?, ?It is about us, consult us?, ?No Commission without Consultation? etc., sprang up suddenly all over the packed banquet hall of Hotel Pinewood when Meghalaya Chief Minister Dr DD Lapang stood up to deliver the inaugural address at the NGO Consultation.
Even as a ruffled Lapang continued to speak, the women protesters staged a silent protest and walked out of the meeting. Member, NCW, Nirmala Sitharaman, state Chief Secretary PJ Bazeley and Commissioner and Secretary, State Social Welfare Department, SS Gupta were in the dias when the protest took place.
Gupta and some other government officials rushed out to pacify the protesters who included Padmashri winners Queenie Rynjah and Patricia Mukhim, but failed to get them back to the meeting.
The newly constituted Meghalaya State Commission for Women will be headed by Dr Biloris Lyndem as Chairperson and Theilin Phanbuh as Vice Chairperson. Dr June Shullai, Sophia R Marak, Minati Sarma, advocate, and WK Blah are the members while P Myrchiang, programme officer, Director of Social Welfare, will be the Member-Secretary.
The women later confronted Lapang as he was coming out from the meeting and again protested against the unilateral decision of the government while constituting the State Women Commission. Lapang, however, defended his government?s action claiming he saw no justification for consultation.