Jagratha Samithi
What is a Jagratha Samithi?
A Jagratha Samithi is a local-level protection forum dedicated to safeguarding the rights and ensuring the physical, mental, and personal safety of women and children. It works with constant vigilance to prevent atrocities, rights violations, and social ostracization directed against them.
These committees take immediate action in situations requiring urgent intervention to establish protective measures. They also address cases and issues that might otherwise be neglected due to the absence of other specific committees, utilizing available legal protections and support systems for women and children.
Objectives
To protect the rights of women and children and ensure robust intervention and resolution mechanisms against any form of atrocity, discrimination, injustice, exploitation, or denial of rights.
To receive complaints involving women and children and facilitate resolutions through immediate intervention or support systems.
To refer complaints or issues that cannot be resolved locally to the District Jagratha Samithi, the Women's Commission, other government bodies, or legal aid agencies, and to ensure that the outcomes of these actions reach the grassroots level. Coordinate the efforts of government-level agencies and schemes dedicated to protecting the rights of women and girls. Facilitate activities by aligning the work of other agencies sharing similar objectives with that of the *Jagratha Samithi* (Vigilance Committee).
Implement initiatives to foster a social environment free from issues affecting women and children.
Form various collectives and utilize community-based systems to achieve these goals.
Ensure community oversight and support for initiatives addressing situations where women and children are vulnerable to abuse.
Structure of the *Jagratha Samithi* (Gram Panchayat Level)
The Panchayat-level committee consists of eleven members. Chairperson – Grama Panchayat President
Vice Chairperson – Vice President
Convener – ICDS Supervisor, Department of Women and Child Development
Co-Convener – Panchayat Secretary
Members
Chairperson of the Welfare Standing Committee
Lawyer
Inspector/Sub-Inspector of the local police station
Female Panchayat member belonging to the SC/ST category / Social worker
Medical Officer of the Primary Health Centre
CDS Chairperson
A representative selected from among the conveners of the Ward-level Vigilance Committees
Invitees
Representative of the District Child Protection Committee (DCPC)
Educational Officer
Ward/Division-level Vigilance Committee
The Ward/Division Vigilance Committee is a sub-unit of the vigilance committee formed for women and children at the local self-government level. The general meeting of the ward-level committee may be organized either in conjunction with the Grama Sabha or as a separate Grama Sabha, as convenient. Structure of the Ward/Division-level Vigilance Committee
Chairperson: Ward Member/Councillor
Vice Chairperson: ADS President/Elected woman representative
Convener: Anganwadi Worker (or Helper in the worker's absence) and other women community workers (ASHA/SC-ST Promoter/Prerak)
Joint Convener
Members
A person of public standing (Doctor, Lawyer, Retired official)
Representative of voluntary organizations (Libraries, Clubs, Associations)
Representatives of major political parties (2 persons; one must be a woman)
ADS/CDS representative (1 person)
Ex-officio members (Invitees)
Health worker active in the ward
Representative of the ward-level sanitation committee
Anganwadi Teacher/Counsellor active in the ward
Convener of the Ward Development Committee
President of Balasabha/Sabha
