Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal on Friday bid an emotional farewell as she resigned from the post after the ruling AAP nominated her for the Rajya Sabha.
She was appointed as the head of the women rights panel in 2015, the youngest woman to hold the post.
Taking to X, Maliwal shared a video and captioned it with a line from Bollywood movie “Kabhi Kabhi”.
“Pal do pal meri kahani hai (My story will last for a moment or two)… Today with moist eyes, I said goodbye to the Delhi Women’s Commission. I didn’t realize how 8 years had passed here with the panel. I saw many ups and downs while living here. I dedicated every day to the welfare of Delhi and the country. The fight is not over, it is just the beginning,” she said.
Maliwal was resolute in her commitment to rejuvenate the organization and maximize her authority. Since she assumed office, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has effectively addressed over 1.7 lakh cases.
She initiated a women’s helpline (181) to assist any distressed woman or child in the national capital, and has handled 40 lakh calls till now, the panel said at a press conference.
This involved deploying a fleet of vans and hundreds of trained counselors ready to respond immediately upon receiving a complaint. The commission’s helpline now receives over 2,000 calls daily, with a cumulative total of over 4 million calls over the past six years.
During her tenure, DCW successfully rescued of over 2,500 women and children from trafficking, child marriage, child labor, and illegal confinement.
In July 2023, a viral video exposed the severity of the situation, depicting the sexual assault of two women during the clashes in Manipur, in view of the incident Maliwal took a proactive stance, defying protocol to visit Manipur alone and later filed a comprehensive report on the crimes against women, submitting it to relevant national authorities with recommendations for assistance.
Her visit had prompted other national-level leaders to acknowledge the situation and visit the region, the DCW said.