NCW launches ‘SHEServes’ to encourage women for careers in defence forces

Ranchi, Dec 22 (PTI) The National Commission for Women (NCW) on Monday launched ‘SHEServes’, an initiative to guide and empower young women aspiring for careers in the defence forces.

Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth, who was also present at the programme, thanked the NCW for selecting Ranchi for the launch of the initiative.

Addressing the gathering, NCW chairperson Vijaya K Rahatkar said India is rapidly moving forward in every sector and women are also scaling new heights.

"The initiative was started by the NCW to make the girls aware about the opportunities in the defence sector. We are guiding them about the scope, preparations, mental and physical fitness required for the opportunities," she said.

Later, speaking to reporters, she said the commission has decided to hold 150 such programmes with special focus in aspirational districts in the country.

"The response we received from the participating girls today was encouraging. We hope the programme will help spread awareness among girls about joining defence forces," she said.

Rahatkar said the full commission is on two-day visit to Jharkhand, which started from Monday.

"We also held a public hearing ‘Rashtriya Mahila Aayog Apke Dwar’ in Ranchi. We heard as many as 140 cases related to rape, attempt to rape, sexual harassment, dowry death, dowry harassment, domestic violence, stalking, assault and others. Over 100 cases have been disposed of," she said.

A workshop on Anti-Human Trafficking (AHT) was organised by the NCW in collaboration with the Railway Protection Force (RPF) in Ranchi.

The objective of the workshop was to raise awareness for the prevention and eradication of human trafficking, strengthen inter-departmental coordination, and reinforce an effective institutional mechanism, she said.

"We also held an interaction with women, who were freed from trafficking. The women are now contributing to stop trafficking," she added.

Rahatkar said the commission will be in Hazaribag on Tuesday where there will be three programmes.

"We hold a meeting with the deputy commissioners and top officials in Hazaribag division and also assess the status of women-centric schemes there. We will also conduct a meeting with police officials. An interaction with youth will also be organized under ‘campus calling’ initiative at University in Hazaribag,” she added. Rahatkar said they would also meet Jharkhand Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar on Tuesday.

On the vacant post of Chairperson in the Jharkhand State Commission for Women, she said, “A Women’s Commission is mandatory in every state of the country. The appointment of chairperson in the commission has not yet been made in Jharkhand. We will discuss this with the Governor of Jharkhand during our meeting on Tuesday and inform him that this is very important.” She added they wanted to meet state chief secretary and DGP over various issues including appointment of chairperson in women commission. The officers said they are pre-occupied due to some scheduled events, she said.

Rahatkar said she would write a letter to the Chief Minister of Jharkhand for constitution of women commission. PTI SAN SAN MNB