U.P. Police Instil Confidence In School Girls
Uttar Pradesh Police initiated a commendable step towards women safety and security. Under the guidance of Director General of Police of the state, Sulkhan Singh, U.P. Police started women safety week. It would be observed every year in the first week of December.
DGP Sulkhan Singh said that Uttar Pradesh Police would observe the first week of every December as the women safety and awareness week. During this week, several steps will be taken by police officers to instil confidence in women. Interactive sessions would be conducted by senior officers in schools and colleges between 4th and 10th of December every year. The name given by DGP UP is “Her Week, Every Year”.
During this week, U.P. Police organized programs in hundreds of girls’ schools and colleges in 75 districts. ADGs of police zones, IGs of police rages, police chiefs of districts and other officers have addressed gatherings of girls in schools and colleges. DGP Sulkhan Singh himself hold meetings with women in Lucknow. He said in such a meeting with the girl students of I.T.College, Lucknow that “Har ladki hai Shakti-pari, dare nahin, sahe nahin".
Other police officers have encouraged girls in their respective areas. Additional Director General Kanpur zone told girls in a meeting with them that “Na Dare, Na Sahe, Humse Kahen”. In Meerut, Senior Superintendent of Police, Manzil Saini spoke with girls. She informed them about Women Power Line 1090 and UP100. She also told the girls about Anti Romeo Squads. However, Anti Romeo Squads are now not-so-active because some infamous incidents committed by them such as beatings of couples picked up from public parks. UP100 is indeed is being considered an active service.
Public Relation Officer to the DGP U.P., Rahul Shrivastava told BW Police World that Women Safety Week was widely celebrated in rural areas of the state. He said that two-thirds of the total matter pertaining to women safety and security comes from rural areas. That is why these areas were the focus-areas of the U.P. Police during this program. District police officers got directions from Lucknow that they should go and conduct various types of programs in those areas. Police officers even organized Essay, Poem, self-defence programs and other competition to further the idea of self-respect among girls. Apart from girls’ schools and colleges, Police officers hold nukkad meetings with women and told them not to fear from perpetrators and advised to contact police, if any ruffian harasses them.
Uttar Pradesh has notoriety for its share in crimes relating to women. According to recently released data of National Crime Record Bureau about crime figures in 2016, U.P., as always, tops the list in such crimes. However, exact result of initiatives such as Women Safety Week can’t be ascertained in near future, but experts believe that such measures could have an impact on the mindsets of those police officers who don’t give much importance to women’s problems in society. From now on, many of them could take these complaints more seriously, taking note of the policies of the state government and chief of UP Police. Also, it is believed that such one to one interaction between girls and police officers may encourage girls to not only to resist and report any offence to the police.
