Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani today said that when a woman undertakes a responsibility, she does not take rest till it is completed.

She was speaking at a National Conference on ‘Safety and Security of Women at Public and Work Places’ organised by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), to mark International Women’s Day.

Delivering the keynote address as the Chief Guest, she said that Indian policewomen’s greatest challenge is that they cannot afford to look weak to their counterparts, neither to society nor to the establishment.

Policewomen are always dedicated to protecting other women, and they do not evade the challenges they face, she said. On behalf of all women, the Minister gave her best wishes to all men on International Women’s Day.

The Minister said she is aware of two significant challenges faced by the Indian policewomen and is ready to partner with BPR&D to address them. The first is the lack of crèche facilities for the policewoman.

If the BPR&D desires, then her Ministry can arrange Crèches at the District Level for the Indian policewomen, she said.

The second is the arrangement of counselling services for policewomen. If the DG, BPR&D desires, then in collaboration with NIMHANS, her Ministry can arrange counselling services for the Indian women police all over the Country.

She stated that BPR&D had done great work in preparing a roadmap for the country, especially for State Governments, to ensure women’s safety at the workplace, in society, and in homes.

There are 704 One Stop Centres and 36 Mahila Help Lines in the Country with which 70 Lakh women have been protected. “With BPR&D’s effort and collaboration, we want to train people in these Help Centres,” she said.

She wanted self-defence training to prepare schoolgirls and women in every district. The Minister stated that in every district, in every police station, there should be women’s help desks that should collaborate with the One-Stop Centres, and in this, the Bureau may play a significant role.

Projects worth Rs 9000 crore have been evaluated in the Nirbhaya Fund. More than Rs 4000 crore has already been allotted to the States/ UTs. Her Ministry was ready to accept more project proposals.

BPR&D DG Balaji Srivastava recalled the series of legal enactments and amendments after the Nirbhaya case, like the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2018, Sexual Harassment of Women at Work Place and Redressal Act, 2013, etc.

He said the Bureau has trained police investigators and prosecutors for women-related crimes, and in the last four years, about 20,000 such officers have been trained.