SHE teams power fight against eve-teasing in Telangana

Geetanjali Gayatri

Tribune News Service

Panipat, January 21

The country’s newest state of Telangana seems to have found the answer to the all-pervasive problem of eve-teasing: SHE teams. Comprising five cops, two policemen and three policewomen each, these teams fan out in crowded places and keep their eyes open for erring Romeos.

Speaking on the sidelines of a seminar-cum-workshop ‘Nai Soch, Nai Disha’ to brainstorm on women’s issues in general and ways to improve the adverse gender ratio in particular, principal secretary, Women and Child Development, Telangana, Dr Poonam Malakondaiah, said the 10-member SHE teams had met with success and had re-instilled the feeling of security among the women back home.

Also heading the Telangana government’s seven-member all-woman panel to make recommendations on ‘Safety and Security of Women’, Malakondaiah says, “We have constituted 100 such teams where police personnel in plainclothes mix with the crowd outside colleges, popular hangouts, cinemas and in public transport. They go armed with a small hidden camera that records the goings-on as they happen.”

Sometimes, women police personnel themselves end up as “victims” and the entire act is caught on camera. The eve-teasers are immediately taken to the police station where his family is called in and he is let off with a warning and a petty fine.

If he refuses to mend his ways and is caught again, a police case is made out against him and he is even imprisoned for a day or two. “This suggestion came as part of our committee’s interim report submitted to the government. The final report is yet to come. However, the result has been flattering. In 45 days, 150 cases have been registered. Contrary to expectations, the older lot forms a big chunk of the offenders. Our experience shows 40 per cent offenders are above the age of 50,” Malakondaiah explains.

The committee has made 77 other recommendations that include 33 per cent reservation for women in police ranks, combat training for women as also running of SHE cabs for the women and by the women. The government has stepped in by helping them tie up with IT companies for business and gives a subsidy to buy taxis.

The Gwalior story

Union Minister Maneka Gandhi was particularly full of praise for a software installed by the Gwalior administration to keep track of expecting mothers. This software has also been procured by the Government of India. It links ultrasound centres to the District Magistrate's office and sends a beep every time a sonography is done. The expectant mother is tracked right through the pregnancy. However, this can be effective only in a small area

The Sikkim experience

At 944 girls for every 1,000 boys, Sikkim has one of the highest gender ratios in the North-Eastern states. ICDS Mission Director BB Subba attributed this to absence of dowry culture and child marriage. The government gives monetary benefits to families with girls, which helps them further