Hyderabad: Police must follow the zero FIR system in cases of missing women and crimes against women Home Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali instructed in a meeting held in the city.
A meeting of police, education, and women and child safety departments was held by Mr Ali where the police were told to register complaints and not look into jurisdiction.
The instructions were that police stations and SHE teams must be alerted for immediate action. Surely this is stating the obvious?
The meeting involved all the departments as they have to disseminate the information what info is this?at all levels and reach out to wider number of people so that they are aware of what they must do.
For this reason the helpline numbers 100, 181, 1098 and a common number 112 will be displayed on notice boards of educational institutions, public transport, auto rickshaws and cabs.
The major task in women safety is vulnerability reduction and it is important to educate children in schools and colleges on women and child safety. The biggest challenges are the fringe elements who are school drop outs and not in the organisational set up.
Reaching out to those elements will be through grass roots workers like anganwadis, self-help groups, rural and urban welfare associations, clubs etc.
The women and child safety department insisted that it is important to reach out to those who are not in the periphery areas, semi-rural and rural ayreas.
The helpline numbers apart from advertising will also require regular programmes at the society level in terms of residents associations, women’s clubs and others so that their sensitization is complete.
A senior member of the women and child welfare department explained, “When vulnerable, a woman is bound to panic. Hence they will have to also understand that during this situation whom must they first reach out to for help and why?”
The meeting stressed the need to have a combined system and a unified effort to take stringent action in rape cases and other forms of violence against women.
The crucial meeting was attended by education minister Sabitha Indira Reddy, women development and child welfare minister Satyavathi Rathod and Panchayat raj minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao.
