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This story is from November 15, 2014

'Love jihad' is media hype, unimportant issue: NCW chief

Dismissing "love jihad" as mere media hype, national commission for women (NCW) chief Lalitha Kumaramangalam said it was an unimportant issue and played up by the media.
'Love jihad' is media hype, unimportant issue: NCW chief
NEW DELHI: Dismissing "love jihad" as mere media hype, national commission for women (NCW) chief Lalitha Kumaramangalam said it was an unimportant issue and played up by the media. Her comments are in sharp variance with several BJP leaders who have alleged that "love jihad" was an act of coercion rampant in Uttar Pradesh and other places with Hindu women being forced to marry Muslim men.

When asked for her response on love jihad Kumaramangalam said, "It is a totally unimportant issue compared to all the issues that women have to battle. It is just media hype…if you (media) stop writing about it, people will stop speaking." She added that there was a huge cultural backlash in the country but that was irrespective of religion, caste or creed when asked if the phenomenon was a result of cultural conflict.
The commission chairperson also spoke about introducing the facility of lodging a FIR in the NCW premises. "We are always getting complaints that a FIR has not been lodged. So I have spoken to the home minister and we have suggested if FIRs can be lodged from our premises. I will be writing to him soon," she said.
Kumaramangalam was recently in the eye of a storm for suggesting that sex work should be legalized so that women involved in the trade and their children have better access to health, education and financial welfare schemes. Speaking at an interaction in the Indian Women's Press Corps Kumaramangalam said that legalizing of sex work was her personal view. "The issue has been discussed in the commission and we will soon be putting across our recommendations before the Supreme Court panel. The matter is sub-judice till then," she said.
Expressing concern over the Bilaspur incident where 14 women have died after botched surgery in a sterilization camp Kumaramanagalam said that it was unfortunate that the entire burden of the sterilization programme had been dumped on women. Speaking about the lack of informed consent she said, "I would like to see women being made aware of the contraceptive choices that the government has to offer. It is important that local self-government be roped in to make it possible."
On the Aligarh Muslim University controversy where women have been denied access to the university library she said that she had written to the HRD ministry seeking to know if a deterrent could be put in place against such institutions. "Is it even legal for an educational institution to restrict access?" she asked.
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