Dr. Charu WaliKhanna, Member, NCW was Chief Guest at Seminar on NRI MARRIAGE AND ABANDONED WOMEN organized by Gujarat State Commission for Women held at Vadodara on 3 March, 2012. The function was inaugurated by Hon’ble Minister for Women & Child Welfare Gujarat, SMT ANANDIBEN PATEL. Hundreds of girls and parents suffering from the “NRI trauma” turned up at the Seminar to share their problems and look for solutions. They were from Vadodara, Ahmedabad and smaller towns like Anklav, Shinor, Dabhoi and Savli. Addressing the gathering, Women and Child Welfare Minister Anandiben Patel said that the state was planning to set up a legal cell which would guide families seeking alliance with NRIs. She also assured that the government will make it compulsory to submit more information like passport number and other details in the Marriage Registration Form and also put complaints on display at mahila police stations across Gujarat. 

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Charu WaliKhanna, Member, NCW said that in the eagerness not to let go of a lucrative association proposal, often the girl’s parents totally ignore even the common precautions that should be observed in traditional matchmaking. They also ignore that in case of things going awry in an NRI marriage, the woman’s recourse to justice is greatly constrained by the reason that such marriage are not governed by only the Indian legal system but by the far more complex private international laws involving the legal system of the other country too. In the post lunch session Dr. Charu WaliKhanna, Member, NCW individually met each girl and tried to offer solutions and distributed the book of guidelines published by NCW which contained among other information the helpline numbers of Indian and foreign agencies as well as the embassies in foreign countries. The book was so much in demand that the local administration made more than 100 photocopies of it specially the page containing the helpline numbers which offer assistance to the victim not only in English and Hindi but also Gujarati, Bengali etc. 

An important role was played by Smt. Leela Ben Ankolial Chairperson Gujarat State Commission for Women and Members Dr. Chatnaben Tiwari, Smt. Mayurika Ben Yadav, Smt. Urmila Ben Vasawa alongwith Smt. Bindu Gomit Member Secretary Present on the occasion were over 500 participants including women victims, various NGOs, representatives/President of Marriage Bureau. 

Other dignitaries present on the occasion included The Collector, District Development Officer, S P Vadodara, Dr. Jyotiben Pandya Mayor of Vadodara Municipal Corporation and Smt. Sudhaben Kamleshbhai Paramar President Jila Panchayat Vadodara. Speakers included Sh.Abhay Bharadwaj, Advocate Gujarat High Court, Sh Sunil Raval, Advocate Metropoilitan Court, Ahmedabad.

View Photo Gallery