Nari Adalat: Composition, Functions & Need

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Context (IE): Ministry of Women and Child Development has extended an invitation to states and UTs to set up Nari Adalats.

About Nari Adalat

Initially launched in 2023 on a pilot basis in 50 gram panchayats each in Assam and Jammu & Kashmir. The program is now being expanded to other states and UTs.
These Adalats will be exclusively dedicated to women and girls, as a platform for women to voice their problems and fight for their rights.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development would run the scheme under the Sambal sub-scheme of Mission Shakti.

Each Nari Adalat village will have 7 to 11 members called ‘Nyaya Sakhis’:
- Half of which would be the elected members of the gram panchayat
- Half will include teachers, doctors and social workers – who would be nominated by the villagers.

It will be set up at the village level as an alternative dispute resolution forum for domestic violence, dowry, child custody, property rights and to counter the patriarchal system.
The scheme focuses on negotiation, mediation, and reconciliation to settle minor disputes.
The court will address individual cases and raise awareness of government schemes and women’s legal rights and entitlements.
It will not hold any legal status. It will function as a pressure group.

The traditional forms of justice-dispensing mechanisms have patriarchal biases.
If women ever dared to raise their voices against the atrocities inflicted on them, they would face criticism and humiliation (victim-shaming).
Personal accounts of the victims who sought justice through Nari Adalat will encourage others to voice their problems and fight for their rights.

Mission Shakti is a scheme in mission mode aimed at strengthening interventions for women safety, security & empowerment.
It seeks to realise the Government s commitment for women-led development by addressing issues affecting women on a life-cycle continuum basis and by making them equal partners in nation-building through convergence and citizen-ownership.
Mission Shakti has two sub-schemes:
- ‘Sambal’
- ‘Samarthya’

Sambal is a sub-scheme of Mission Shakti which includes One Stop Centres (OSC), Women Helplines, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) and Nari Adalat, thus focuses on women’s safety & security.

As another component of Mission Shakti, it focuses on women’s empowerment, encompassing initiatives like PM Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), Palna, Shakti Sadan & Hub for Empowerment of Women.