SHE Teams complete 5 years, lauded

Hyderabad: The Indian Women Network (IWN) of CII (IWN) celebrated the 5th year anniversary of SHE Team here on Tuesday. IWN felicitated the SHE Team – Constables D Bhavya Z Radha, SIs A Ramlal, K Sunil Reddy & GL Bhaskar, and ACP Shikha Goel – for their herculean efforts and selfless service in providing safety and security to the women of Telangana and to make Hyderabad a safe and smart city that it is today. It was heartening to know that the majority of the SHE Team comprises men.

SHE Team was launched with the aim of providing safety and security to women and thereby build up confidence, to fulfill the Telangana government's commitment of a safe and secure Hyderabad city for its women.

Additional Commissioner of Police (Crimes & SIT) Shikha Goel stated that crime is not limited only to certain uneducated sections of society alone. SHE Team has been working extensively to spread the awareness of women safety. She invited citizens to participate and report untoward behaviour, unsafe areas and zones, suspicious people, etc., to the SHE Team or police. Goel reiterated that we must prepare to react and take care of ourselves.

She said: "Use a deo or pepper spray, a toy whistle, Telangana Police's app 'Hawkeye,' or anything to protect yourself and alert the police and the SHE Team." Crime can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime and it is our responsibility to take charge of our personal safety. Constable Bhavya shared how the 310 SHE Teams work round-the-clock under direct supervision of Shikha Goel. Constable Radha said women must defend themselves by being self-aware and taking necessary precautions even at home.

CII IWN Telangana chairperson Dr Nandita Sethi spoke that in the light of recent incidents, this event by CII IWN was only to reiterate that the role of the SHE Team was more crucial now than ever, and that CII IWN would partner the SHE Team in empowering the people of Telangana to protect women.

Shakti Sagar, Past Chair-CII of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, emphasised the fact that women's safety or rape is not just a women's issue. That corporates and society must play an active part in taking on the mantle of women safety.

Swathi Kantamani, Vice-Chair of CII-IWN Telangana, too reiterated the importance of using the Hawkeye app which is by the police for the people. She also mentioned that women must be aware of their personal safety and give it as much importance as taking care of the family.

The CII IWN celebrated this breakthrough initiative by the Telangana police and the stories shared by the SHE team members were an inspiration to all. SHE Teams today has been a pathfinder for many states to set up similar teams for the safety of women, including Cybercrime labs.