Rachakonda Police Commissionerate’s three-day programme for empowerment of women, through its latest initiative SanghaMitra, concluded with enrolment of more than 130 volunteers in the district on Monday.
A brainchild of Commissioner Mahesh. M. Bhagwat, SanghaMitra aims to identify sensitive and mission-driven individuals to become support leaders for women in distress in rural areas.
The volunteers are identified by Rachakonda Security Council-Women Forum (RSC-WF), a community-safety initiative, through awareness promotion meetings and deliberations with stakeholders, such as through the three-day schedule of events.
On Monday, the concluding day’s programme at Pochampally and Choutuppal witnessed more than 400 participants, from officials of SHE Teams and RSC-WF to people and civil society representatives, and students and health workers.
From domestic violence to crimes against children and women, support system and redressal mechanism, officials explained the concepts by conducting debates, focused group discussions and experience-sharing.
One of the most-participative sessions was on family dynamics arising out of ‘mother-in-law vs. daughter-in-law’, between public representatives and the audience.
Mandal leaders P. Venkatesh and K. Pushpa Latha asserted that gender equality was a practice to begin at home, while Pochampally municipal chairperson C. Vijaya Lakshmi spoke about girl child education and concerns around pre-natal sex determination.
The sessions also witnessed case studies from MV Foundation, legal remedies for women by Bhumika Women’s Collective, presentations through folk art and survey questionnaires.
About 50 candidates volunteered for the full day SanghaMitra awareness on the last day. Shortly, all the enrolled 130+ SanghaMitra volunteers will be part of an elaborate training programme.
Additional DCP (SHE) SK. Saleema, Latha Ram and Archana Manne from RSC-WF and others steered the programme.
