# Swati Maliwal (स्वाति मालीवाल)
**Swati Maliwal** (स्वाति मालीवाल) is an Indian politician and women's rights activist who served as chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) from 2015 to 2024 and has been a [Rajya Sabha](https://www.edgepedia.org/rajya-sabha) member of parliament from Delhi since January 2024.[1](https://www.bsg.ox.ac.uk/events/conversation-swati-maliwal) She rose to public prominence through the 2011 India Against Corruption movement and built her profile on campaigns against sexual violence in Delhi, before her career took a contentious turn with a 2024 assault allegation against a senior aide of [Arvind Kejriwal](https://www.edgepedia.org/arvind-kejriwal) and a later split from the [Aam Aadmi Party](https://www.edgepedia.org/aam-aadmi-party) (AAP).[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/swati-maliwal-aap-delhi-women-commission-rajya-sabha-kejriwal-9098157/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1984, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh[3](https://www.swatimaliwal.com/about.html) |
| DCW chairperson | Appointed July 2015 at age 31, the youngest-ever head of the Delhi Commission for Women[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/swati-maliwal-aap-delhi-women-commission-rajya-sabha-kejriwal-9098157/) • [4](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/who-is-swati-maliwal-aap-leader-who-has-alleged-delhi-cms-aide-bibhav-of-assaulting-her/articleshow/110195078.cms) |
| Hunger strikes | 2018 fast ended on the 10th day when the Union Cabinet passed an ordinance prescribing the death penalty for child rape; a 2019 strike lasted 13 days[3](https://www.swatimaliwal.com/about.html) |
| Rajya Sabha | Elected January 2024 (term from 31 January 2024) as an AAP member from Delhi[5](https://delhi.gov.in/profile/ms-swati-maliwal) |
| Parliamentary record | 95% attendance, 51 debates, 128 questions, and 5 private member's bills, against national averages of 80%, 106.5, 149.45, and 0.9 respectively[6](https://prsindia.org/mptrack/rajya-sabha/swati-maliwal) |
| 2024 assault case | Alleged assault by Bibhav Kumar, Kejriwal's aide, at the chief minister's residence on May 13, 2024; Kumar was sent to five days of police custody on May 18[7](https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/bibhav-kumar-slapped-me-7-8-times-pulled-my-shirt-up-said-we-will-bury-you-swati-maliwal-charges-in-fir-2540274-2024-05-17) • [8](https://www.dailypioneer.com/uploads/2024/epaper/may/bhopal-english-edition-2024-05-20.pdf) |
| Party exit | Part of a coordinated split in which seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs moved to the BJP[9](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/maliwal-mps-sit-together-in-house-exit-talk-began-there/articleshow/130650901.cms) |
## Early life and activism
Maliwal was born in 1984 in [Ghaziabad](https://www.edgepedia.org/ghaziabad), Uttar Pradesh, and studied at Amity International School before earning a degree in Information Technology from JSS Academy of Technical Education.[3](https://www.swatimaliwal.com/about.html) At about 21 or 22 she left a corporate job at HCL to join Parivartan, the NGO founded by Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and others, where she worked on poverty, corruption, and gender inequality in Delhi's slum communities.[3](https://www.swatimaliwal.com/about.html) • [10](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/lost-mental-peace-my-family-caught-in-eye-of-storm-swati-maliwal-8315361/) In 2008, at 24, she traveled alone to flood-stricken Bihar and spent more than four months there helping establish relief centers.[3](https://www.swatimaliwal.com/about.html)
**India Against Corruption.** In 2011 she joined the 23-member core committee of the anti-corruption movement led by [Anna Hazare](https://www.edgepedia.org/anna-hazare), as its youngest member, and is credited with mobilizing youth activists from across the country for the Lokpal agitation.[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/swati-maliwal-aap-delhi-women-commission-rajya-sabha-kejriwal-9098157/) • [11](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/from-delhi-slums-to-rajya-sabha-the-story-of-swati-maliwal/articleshow/110090059.cms?from=mdr) During the December 2012 Nirbhaya protests after the gang rape and murder of a woman on a Delhi bus, she faced police aggression while campaigning for stricter rape laws, and she later emerged as one of the prominent faces of the fledgling Aam Aadmi Party.[3](https://www.swatimaliwal.com/about.html) • [2](https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/swati-maliwal-aap-delhi-women-commission-rajya-sabha-kejriwal-9098157/) She then served as an advisor on public grievances to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal before her DCW appointment.[12](https://www.governancenow.com/news/regular-story/commissioning-a-powerhouse-swati-maliwal-dcw)
## Chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women
When the Kejriwal government appointed her DCW chairperson in July 2015, Maliwal, then 31, became the youngest-ever head of a women's commission panel in Delhi.[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/swati-maliwal-aap-delhi-women-commission-rajya-sabha-kejriwal-9098157/) • [4](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/who-is-swati-maliwal-aap-leader-who-has-alleged-delhi-cms-aide-bibhav-of-assaulting-her/articleshow/110195078.cms) She later described the office she inherited as inert, saying it "seemed like a kitty party location," and set about using powers that had gone unused: the commission could order government departments to turn over information and summon anyone, including Delhi's most senior police officials, for examination.[13](https://thelogicalindian.com/dcw-swati-maliwal/) • [14](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/05/woman-tackling-delhi-rape-crisis-swati-maliwal)
**Campaigns on sexual violence.** In 2018 she spearheaded the #RapeRoko movement, within which 550,000 (5.5 lakh) people wrote to the Prime Minister within 30 days demanding time-bound death penalties for child rapists, and 15,000 citizens joined a human chain demonstration.[15](https://www.feministaa.com/stories/when-a-woman-decides-she-can-shake-up-the-entire-system-swati-maliwal-delhi-commission-for-women) • [3](https://www.swatimaliwal.com/about.html) After brutal rapes of two minor girls in Delhi and Kashmir, she began a "fast unto death" at Rajghat demanding stringent laws and fast-track courts; after ten days on water she ended the fast when the Union Cabinet passed an ordinance accepting most of her demands, including the death penalty for child rape.[3](https://www.swatimaliwal.com/about.html) • [16](https://timelinedaily.com/india/swati-maliwal-newest-aap-rajya-sabha-nominee-and-former-dcw-chief) In 2019, after another gang rape, she undertook a 13-day hunger strike demanding better implementation of laws, more police personnel, and digitization of the [Delhi Police](https://www.edgepedia.org/delhi-police).[3](https://www.swatimaliwal.com/about.html) That winter she led the Mahila Suraksha Yatra, a 13-day padyatra of 330 km across Delhi with night stays in slums, joined by more than 5,000 women.[3](https://www.swatimaliwal.com/about.html)
Her tenure also drew legal scrutiny: the anti-corruption branch investigated her and filed a chargesheet against Maliwal and three other DCW members.[10](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/lost-mental-peace-my-family-caught-in-eye-of-storm-swati-maliwal-8315361/) She demitted office in January 2024 upon her nomination to the Rajya Sabha, and more than two years later the DCW remained without a full-time chairperson, operating in a limited capacity under interim charge.[17](https://www.newindianexpress.com/amp/story/india/2026/Apr/10/headless-dcw-resumes-limited-work-struggles-with-staff-shortage)
## Rajya Sabha
Maliwal was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Delhi in January 2024, with her term beginning on 31 January 2024.[5](https://delhi.gov.in/profile/ms-swati-maliwal) She said politics allowed her to amplify her voice beyond Delhi to all of India.[18](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/feb/02/womens-champion-swati-maliwal-takes-delhi-anti-rape-fight-nationwide) From September 2024 she served on the Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law, and Justice.[5](https://delhi.gov.in/profile/ms-swati-maliwal)
Her PRS Legislative Research track record shows 95% attendance against a national average of 80%, 51 debates, 128 parliamentary questions, and 5 private member's bills, including the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2024 and a resolution on strengthening women's commissions across the country.[6](https://prsindia.org/mptrack/rajya-sabha/swati-maliwal) She has stated that she moved a bill intended to give more strength to women's commissions across India.[9](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/maliwal-mps-sit-together-in-house-exit-talk-began-there/articleshow/130650901.cms)
## The 2024 assault case
On May 13, 2024, Maliwal alleged that Bibhav Kumar, a close aide of Arvind Kejriwal, assaulted her at the chief minister's residence.[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/swati-maliwal-aap-delhi-women-commission-rajya-sabha-kejriwal-9098157/) The FIR registered in the case states she was slapped 7 to 8 times, kicked in the chest, stomach, and pelvis, and quotes a threat that "we will bury and dump you in such a place that no one will even know"; a medico-legal case report recorded internal injuries to her face.[7](https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/bibhav-kumar-slapped-me-7-8-times-pulled-my-shirt-up-said-we-will-bury-you-swati-maliwal-charges-in-fir-2540274-2024-05-17) She called the police emergency number 112 to report the crime.[19](https://salarnews.in/public/uploads/images/epaper/pdf_18052024_010459_SALAR-ENGLISH-18-05-2024.pdf)
The case became politically charged. AAP alleged the episode was a BJP conspiracy to frame Kejriwal and called her allegations baseless.[19](https://salarnews.in/public/uploads/images/epaper/pdf_18052024_010459_SALAR-ENGLISH-18-05-2024.pdf) After a late-night hearing on May 18, 2024, a city court sent Kumar to five days of police custody; the court noted that the FIR allegations were corroborated in her statement recorded on oath before a magistrate and in the medico-legal case report.[8](https://www.dailypioneer.com/uploads/2024/epaper/may/bhopal-english-edition-2024-05-20.pdf)
## Break with AAP
Maliwal's fallout with the party began a few months after her election, in May 2024, and she later publicly expressed disillusionment with Kejriwal's leadership, saying AAP's leadership "doesn't believe in democracy."[9](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/maliwal-mps-sit-together-in-house-exit-talk-began-there/articleshow/130650901.cms) • [20](https://www.ndtv.com/video/aaps-leadership-doesn-t-believe-in-democracy-swati-maliwal-899856) She was part of a coordinated split in which seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs defected to the BJP, a move that drew accusations of betrayal given her past remarks against the party; she said talk of the exit began among MPs who sit together in the House, and she repeated her assault claim after leaving.[9](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/maliwal-mps-sit-together-in-house-exit-talk-began-there/articleshow/130650901.cms)
## References
1. [In conversation with Swati Maliwal, Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford](https://www.bsg.ox.ac.uk/events/conversation-swati-maliwal)
2. [Rise and rise of Swati Maliwal: Key part of Kejriwal activist phase to AAP's new Rajya Sabha face, The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/swati-maliwal-aap-delhi-women-commission-rajya-sabha-kejriwal-9098157/)
3. [About | Swati Maliwal, Member of Parliament (official website)](https://www.swatimaliwal.com/about.html)
4. [Who is Swati Maliwal? AAP leader who has accused Kejriwal's ex-PS Bibhav Kumar of assaulting her, The Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/who-is-swati-maliwal-aap-leader-who-has-alleged-delhi-cms-aide-bibhav-of-assaulting-her/articleshow/110195078.cms)
5. [Ms. Swati Maliwal, Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi](https://delhi.gov.in/profile/ms-swati-maliwal)
6. [Swati Maliwal, PRS Legislative Research MP track](https://prsindia.org/mptrack/rajya-sabha/swati-maliwal)
7. [Swati Maliwal assault case FIR reveals details, India Today](https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/bibhav-kumar-slapped-me-7-8-times-pulled-my-shirt-up-said-we-will-bury-you-swati-maliwal-charges-in-fir-2540274-2024-05-17)
8. [Daily Pioneer, Bhopal English edition, May 20, 2024](https://www.dailypioneer.com/uploads/2024/epaper/may/bhopal-english-edition-2024-05-20.pdf)
9. [Maliwal: MPs sit together in House, exit talk began there, The Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/maliwal-mps-sit-together-in-house-exit-talk-began-there/articleshow/130650901.cms)
10. [Who is Swati Maliwal, DCW chief caught in eye of storm?, The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/lost-mental-peace-my-family-caught-in-eye-of-storm-swati-maliwal-8315361/)
11. [From Delhi slums to the Rajya Sabha: The story of Swati Maliwal, The Economic Times](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/from-delhi-slums-to-rajya-sabha-the-story-of-swati-maliwal/articleshow/110090059.cms?from=mdr)
12. [Commissioning a powerhouse, Governance Now](https://www.governancenow.com/news/regular-story/commissioning-a-powerhouse-swati-maliwal-dcw)
13. [Interview: "When I Joined, DCW Office Seemed Like A Kitty Party Location," The Logical Indian](https://thelogicalindian.com/dcw-swati-maliwal/)
14. [Her pain should be our pain: the woman tackling Delhi's rape crisis, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/05/woman-tackling-delhi-rape-crisis-swati-maliwal)
15. [When a Woman Decides She Can Shake Up the Entire System, Feministaa](https://www.feministaa.com/stories/when-a-woman-decides-she-can-shake-up-the-entire-system-swati-maliwal-delhi-commission-for-women)
16. [Swati Maliwal: Newest AAP Rajya Sabha Nominee And Former DCW Chief, TimelineDaily](https://timelinedaily.com/india/swati-maliwal-newest-aap-rajya-sabha-nominee-and-former-dcw-chief)
17. [Headless DCW resumes limited work, struggles with staff shortage, The New Indian Express](https://www.newindianexpress.com/amp/story/india/2026/Apr/10/headless-dcw-resumes-limited-work-struggles-with-staff-shortage)
18. [Women's champion Swati Maliwal takes Delhi anti-rape fight nationwide, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/feb/02/womens-champion-swati-maliwal-takes-delhi-anti-rape-fight-nationwide)
19. [SALAR English epaper, May 18, 2024](https://salarnews.in/public/uploads/images/epaper/pdf_18052024_010459_SALAR-ENGLISH-18-05-2024.pdf)
20. [AAP's Leadership Doesn't Believe In Democracy: Swati Maliwal, NDTV](https://www.ndtv.com/video/aaps-leadership-doesn-t-believe-in-democracy-swati-maliwal-899856)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Social life and human behavior › Relationships and social issues › Social movements and social issues › Social activists and public advocates › Civil rights and equality activists › Women's and LGBTQ rights activists*
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