tiol consultation on single mothers

From A Reporter

SHILLONG, April 20: The government should help and commit itself more on the issues relating to single mothers, member of the tiol Commission for Women (NCW), Laldiangliani Sailo said at the tiol Consultation on Issues Related to Single Mothers at NEHU campus in Shillong on Monday.

Speaking on the issue, Sailo said, “We need to take note that this is not just for the sake of the single mother alone, but also because of the ramifications that this has for our society.”

The statement of the NCW member assumes significance in view of the growing cases of single parenting in Meghalaya, a state known for its pre-domint matrilineal setup.  

Stating that single mothers need to have a separate set of schemes and programmes which will help meet their needs, Sailo informed that the government has recognized  single mothers as a category that needed special schemes.

She emphasized on the need to increase the pension for single mothers so that they will be able to look after themselves and their children.

 “Most states have now recognized the need for making some provision of pension for single mothers in their State Plans. But, the pensions are low…with around Rs 1000 per month,” Sailo said.

She also urged the states to put the pension at a uniform scale so that it will benefit all the single mothers equally. “A thousand rupees given to a destitute woman who is alone and a thousand rupees for a single mother with four children is not the same”.

She further pointed out the need of single mothers to get skill development and vocatiol training.

“These women need to go through skill development programmes to eble them to achieve economic empowerment – be it for jobs in the organized sector or for running micro industries in the entrepreneur sector and the government must play key role here to facilitate women to work and to even undertake skill training courses,” she said.

Sailo also said that the police should be sensitive towards single mothers, as they are often the victims of crimes against women.

Meanwhile, AT Mondal, Speaker of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly, was also present at the meet.