‘She Teams’ making women feel safe in Telangana

The Women Safety Wing has been working tirelessly by handling all gender-based cases

Hyderabad: On a busy day, as she waits at a crowded bus station for her ride, it’s hard to ignore the stares and lewd smiles. Danger, it appears, is lurking all around. While this is a common scenario for most women across the country, the situation in Telangana is changing, thanks to the Women Safety Wing of the Telangana Police.

Keeping a sharp eye on miscreants creating nuisance, She Teams are always patrolling public places, in plain clothes, to ensure the safety of all women.

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“We go to public places such as railway stations, local markets and bus stands during peak hours, when there are many people. All the She Team members are dressed in plain clothes during such operations and we also ensure that our vehicles are parked away. We carry cameras to record and take pictures whenever we see a miscreant, as we need that for proof for the case. Once we arrest the miscreant, we also speak to the victim. Only after we have all the details do we take the miscreant into custody,” says ASI Jayraj of the Shamshabad Police, who informs that they undertake at least two such operations daily, at different crowded locations.

Counselling with family

The officers also counsel the perpetrators as a corrective measure.

“We do not just counsel them. We also call all the women of their family and show them the tapes and pictures of their son/brother. Like this, the family is informed of what this person is doing, and they also keep an eye on them,” says Sunitha, She Team Inspector (Cyberabad).

But solving a crime is not an easy job. “There are various issues we face. Many times, when we are in a public place, friends of the miscreants attack us, as we are dressed in civil clothes and they don’t know we are from the Police. So, sometimes, the situation becomes grave. Another issue we face is while dealing with cybercrime. Many a time, network companies issue mobile SIM cards without checking documents. In such cases, it is difficult to find the perpetrators. But our team members have been trained to deal with such cases now,” Sunitha explains.

Telangana’s She Teams, a pioneering effort in the country which is now being replicated in other States, have been working tirelessly towards making the State’s environment safer for all. Handling all kinds of gender-based cases, a total of eleven She Teams are working in the city. Talking about the teams, Sumathi Badugula, DIG, CID, Women Protection Cell, shares, “Our motto is to ensure that all women in the society feel safe. While we still have walk-ins in the police stations, people prefer to WhatsApp us their complaints. The teams have been working towards solving each case as soon as possible.” She adds, “Even during the pandemic, the She Teams did not take any break. Along with the Covid-19 lockdown duties, we conducted several online awareness campaigns for young girls and women.”

In fact, the awareness programmes led by the She Teams has also helped them stop many crimes before happening. Talking about one such case, Jayraj says, “We had done a few awareness programmes in 2019 in local schools about good and bad touch. During the same year, a child, a Class II student, came to us reporting about a man who made her uncomfortable. That saved a big crime from happening.”

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