Who is DCW Chief Swati Maliwal? The Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson who got “molested” in Delhi!
It won’t be wrong to say that women in Delhi do not feel completely safe.
The 2012 gang rape case and many molestation and rape incidents are proof of how unsafe the national capital is for women. Newspapers every day come flooded with molestation cases happening all over the country, and Delhi is infamous for such incidents occurring every now and then.
Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson Swati Maliwal did not get a different experience. In spite of being the chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women, she was allegedly molested on the road outside AIIMS. The horrific incident does not end there, the lady’s hand got stuck in a drunk driver’s car window, after which, she had been brutally dragged for around 10-20 meters on the road.
The incident has shaken the confidence of women all over the state. When even highly authoritative women like her are not safe in the city, no wonder other women won’t experience a sense of safety. Swati Maliwal, however, has been brave enough to speak unabashedly about the incident. Let us know the woman better!
DCW Swati Maliwal- Early Life
Swati Maliwal has been an engineering graduate. She worked with HCL, but the spark in her led her to different paths. When in the early twenties, all youngsters aim at securing a good job, a great position, and a wealthy future, Swati left her job at the age of 22.
After leaving her job, she went on to work in slums and rural areas of the country doing volunteer ventures. Next, she became one of the youngest members of the Anna Hazare-led anti-corruption movement in the year 2011.
As a short gig, she also became a part of Greenpeace India as a campaigner. There, she worked to offer safe food for children and women in the year 2013. Next, she went on to work with MLAs in Delhi as a development consultant in the year 2014.
Swati Maliwal has also been a part of a wide range of NGOs that work majorly towards the centralization of power within the country. She also contributed to organizing campaigns to educate the masses regarding the RTI Act.
The Delhi Commission for Women
It was in the year 2015 when the Delhi Commission for Women chairpersonship happened for the lady. Yes, in 2015, she became the DCW chairperson. However, the path wasn’t smooth as she received severe allegations from Barkha Shukla, the former chief of the commission.
The journey so far
The journey of Swati Maliwal, especially after she became the DCW chairperson. “I was not allowed to enter my office in those initial days. The biggest issue in the DCW was the complete lack of resources. The former DCW chief, who is the complainant in the ACB case, handled one case in eight years and we have handled 1 lakh cases so far. There is not a single allegation of bribery in these 1 lakh cases,” she expressed.
As the DCW Chief, Maliwal gained immense popularity. In her team, 66 counselors worked at helping victimized women file police cases. The “181” women's helpline of the commission receives around 3,000 calls a day. This strategy aided the commission in bringing an array of rape cases to get media light. Most of these rape cases involved elderly and minor women.
Maliwal did not stop here. She established a team that dedicatedly hunted through social media for criminal cases against children and women. In one of these major cases, images of Muslim women were uploaded to an app for the purpose of an online auction. As a result, the team shot a myriad of notices to the police.
Additionally, the team also called for action against the folks who posted crude comments about popular Indian cricketer, Virat Kohli’s daughter.
The team also did not miss the chance to file an FIR against Mukesh Khanna (Shaktiman actor) for his misogynistic comments.
Maliwal undertook an array of rescue operations. Additionally, she also took firm action against spa centers that were allegedly involved in the business of prostitution. Not to miss, she is also famous for holding raids on liquor mafia members.
Hdr way of holding raids had raised many questions, but she handled them unabashedly saying, “We are hurting businesses and all the corrupt officials who are a part of these rackets. I opened up a Pandora’s box.”
Ambitions
Swati Maliwal has always stated that she does not have any political ambitions. All she wants to do is go on working towards significant changes in the Delhi Commission for Women.
The molestation incident against Swati Maliwal in Delhi
Delhi was not kind even to the Chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women. Swati Maliwal expressed the issue in her tweet:
कल देर रात मैं दिल्ली में महिला सुरक्षा के हालात Inspect कर रही थी। एक गाड़ी वाले ने नशे की हालत में मुझसे छेड़छाड़ की और जब मैंने उसे पकड़ा तो गाड़ी के शीशे में मेरा हाथ बंद कर मुझे घसीटा। भगवान ने जान बचाई। यदि दिल्ली में महिला आयोग की अध्यक्ष सुरक्षित नहीं, तो हाल सोच लीजिए।
— Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) January 19, 2023
Swati Maliwal, the Chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women was allegedly molested on the streets of Delhi. Allegedly, she was also dragged for around 10-20 meters by a car driver who was drunk. Moreover, as per her claims, her hands got stuck in the window of the car near AIIMS on Thursday.
The car driver
Harsh Chandra, the car driver who is alleged of molestation and voluntarily causing hurt is a 47-year-old resident of Sangam Vihar. The police stated that the man is being questioned.
