ABSTRACT
Three distinct governmental bodies were established or enhanced in the period 1990–2007: the establishment of a National Commission for Women by an Act of Parliament in 1990 and first constituted in 1992, the establishment of the Parliamentary Committee for the Empowerment of Women in 1997, and the promotion of the Department of Women and Child Development to Ministry status in 2006. The national machinery for women was further consolidated in 1997 with the establishment of a Joint Parliamentary Committee for the Empowerment of Women. The establishment of the National Mission for the Empowerment of Women was announced on International Women’s Day, 8 March 2010. Increased formal structural presence and visibility for women in national government as a result of these new, specialised institutional bodies was gradually supplemented by several initiatives attempting to mainstream gender concerns across government structures to more broadly transform public policy.
