Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Tuesday appointed Shovana Mohanty as the chairperson of the State Commission for Women (SCW) and Babita Patra as the chief of the Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR).

The government named Pratibha Satpathy, Urmila Mohapatra, Kalpana Mallick and Mukta Sahu as members of the SCW. The six new members of the OSCPCR are Sukeshi Oram, Kalpana Lenka, Chandana Das, Kasturi Mishra, Manasmita Khuntia and Sujata Nayak.

Mohanty, who belongs to Balasore district, will serve as the chairperson of the SCW for three years. The SCW acts to safeguard and promote the rights and interests of women in the State, addressing issues related to gender equality, safety and empowerment through advocacy, policy recommendations and grievance redressal.

After her appointment, Mohanty said, "I will try to ensure that the women of the State do not feel alone. The SCW will stand by them during distress."