Union Minister Maneka Gandhi has responded to the online women related issues and pregnant women maternity leave issues.

Mrs Gandhi further said, “Women have to deal with tremendous viciousness online. Initially, the operators would not come and talk to us and cooperate about giving details. But now they have come on board.”

She said that, the ministry of woman and child welfare has already written to the home ministry to come up with a code for online behavior.

Gandhi, while releasing the new woman’s policy, has said that, the problem had come to light with a journalist’s complaint. But they were now sensitized to the threats that many faced in the cyberworld and it would be treated as violence.

Maternity leave is the other area, that is being focused by the officials. “I get emails from pregnant women asking when it would be increased to 8 months. For their sake, I am very hopeful,” she said.

The new woman’s policy is yet to get the approval of the labor ministry.

Ms Gandhi though earlier desired to criminalize it, her statement in Rajya Sabha condoning and explaining it as a phenomenon with cultural and educational context was taken apart by the activists.

"I really want to clarify this. I was abroad when that statement saying 'marital rape is okay' was read out. It was a 20-year-old statement and not mine. I corrected it later on,” she said.

However, the minister said that, they were a long way from tackling the issue.  "There are no complainants, not here in India, or anywhere in the world till the marriage doesn't break down,'' she said. Lawyers like Indira Jaising met her on Monday, but even they couldn't come up with a solution, she added.

By Phani Ch