The Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani inaugurated the week-long celebrations of the International Day of Women at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi today. The Ministry of Women and Child Development is celebrating the International Women’s Day week from 1^st to 8^th March, 2022 as a part of nationwide celebrations of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’. Today’s inaugural event was organised by the WCD Ministry in collaboration with Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) to raise awareness on safety and security of women.  Special interactive sessions were held later in the day by BPR&D and National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) on safety and security of women.

Addressing the huge gathering of One Stop Centre ‘Sakhis’, officials and media personnel, the Union WCD Minister commended the tireless efforts of the OSC functionaries that have played a pivotal role in providing holistic services to women who have been victims of violence and abuse. Smt. Irani appreciated the sincere efforts undertaken by all 704 OSCs operating across the nation to protect women despite the threat of COVID Pandemic.  She further added that over 70 Lakh women have been provided help through these OSCs and Women Helpline. Motivating the ‘Sakhis’ to keep up the good work, the Union Minister said that each and every life you save, the samman (respect) you uphold, will always be remembered by the nation.

Smt. Irani further expressed her gratitude towards all the exceptional work that has been carried out and collaborative efforts undertaken by agencies such as BPR&D. Smt. Irani, in a tweet said “Government of India (GOI) has adopted multi-pronged approach to ensure women’s security. While initiatives like One Stop Centres (OSC) & Women Helpline have helped more than 70 lakh women, anti-human trafficking units & help desks under NIRBHAYA Fund are providing a robust safety mechanism to women.”

GOI has adopted multi-pronged approach to ensure women’s security. While initiatives like One Stop Centres (OSC) & Women Helpline have helped more than 70 lakh women, anti-human trafficking units & help desks under NIRBHAYA Fund are providing a robust safety mechanism to women. pic.twitter.com/tEE2oheEj9

— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) March 1, 2022

The Minister of State, Ministry of WCD, Dr. Mahendrabhai Munjpara also shared his insights on the current developments in the country and the initiatives that have been implemented through MWCD for the safety and security of women.

Delivering the keynote address, Director General BPR&D, Shri Balaji Srivastava gave a detailed background of the work and initiatives carried out by the agency, with integrated technology, online tracking systems such as Investigation Tracking System for Sexual Offences with data sets of over 5 lakh entries, Cyber Crime Portal etc.. He also spoke about the contributions from Nirbhaya Fund in the training of nearly 20,000 functionaries such as prosecutors, police personnel etc. through over 700+ training modules.

The Secretary, WCD, Shri Indevar Pandey acknowledged the important role played by the WCD Ministry through initiatives such as Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, One Stop Centres and Women Helpline in the services provided to the beneficiaries by addressing pressing issues of education, protection and health of women and girls.

A Nukkad Natak (Street Play) was organized to highlight the key role played by One Stop Centres in ensuring that women can lead a dignified life by providing them with all support and assistance they need without having to go place to place to seek it. OSCs provide a wide range of assistance and support to women in distress including police, legal, medical and psycho-social  support.

This was followed by Demonstration of self Defence techniques by BPR&D which enthralled the audiences. The self-defence technique demonstration was done by highly trained team of BPR&D personnel.

*******

BY/AS