One-stop crisis centres, women helpline assisted 57 lakh women: WCD minister at G20 conference

One-stop crisis centres and the women helpline have assisted 57 lakh women in the country, Union minister Smriti Irani has said in her address at the first-ever G20 Ministerial Conference on Women's Empowerment.

The conference was held at Santa Margherita Ligure in Italy in a hybrid format late Thursday night.

Noting that India is witnessing a rapid transition from women's development to women-led development, the women and child development minister said the country has adopted a multi-pronged approach in its strategy that accentuates gender justice and equality and enables full expression and participation of women in public life.

The socio-economic discourse of the country is firmly committed to eliminating all forms of discrimination, disadvantages and violence against women, she added.

"This is the fundamental framework that underpins our development story in which women agencies and leadership play a key role in realising the aspiration of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, a India that is self-reliant not just for her sake but in the interest of the entire global community in a post-Covid world," Irani said.

She said the government is poised to launch Mission Shakti, an integrated programme for the empowerment of women.

"The programme is carefully designed to touch upon and address all concerns and issues of women responsively in a comprehensive manner while weaving the best features from Indian and international experiences and learning into it. The mission endeavours to make women equal partners in nation building through convergence and citizen ownership," the minister said.

Recognising the importance of safety as a foundational requirement for the empowerment of women, she said the government has particularly focussed on the security of women.

"Our country has 704 one-stop crisis centres actively extending medical, legal, psychosocial, police and shelter support to women facing violence or distress in an integrated manner under a common roof," Irani said.

There is a dedicated toll-free helpline for women that enables access to protection 24x7 over an easy-to-remember short code, 181, she added.

"Together, the one-stop crisis centres and the women helpline have assisted 5.7 million (57 lakh) women in my country to this day.

"India is implementing schemes and projects worth more than USD 1.25 billion for the safety of women as the baseline facilitator for their empowerment under the Nirbhaya framework. Enabling institutional delivery for poor women, the government of India transfers funds directly to the bank accounts of pregnant and lactating women," Irani said.

The G20 Conference on Women Empowerment acknowledged the common objectives and shared responsibilities to advance the goals of equality and development of women and girls in all spheres, including STEM, financial and digital literacy, environment and sustainability.