1. Manthan Topic: Ensuring safety and
empowerment of women
Team Details
Jabir Ali K, IIT Madras
Shaima Salim, IIT Madras
Gowtham Chakkravarthy, IIT
Madras
Anand VS, IIT Madras
Richards CS, IIT Madras
A separate department in state & central government
for women welfare, safety and empowerment

2. According to the 2013 UNDP report, all countries in
South Asia except Afghanistan were ranked better for
women than India.
Safety
● A woman is raped in India once in 20
minutes.
● 10% of all crimes in India are of women
abuse.
● Reports of rape, dowry deaths,
molestation, sexual harassment and other
crimes against women in India rose by 6.4
percent in 2012 from the previous year.
● 24,923 rapes were recorded across India
last year compared to 24,206 in 2011.
● Highest number of rapes recorded in the
capital city.
● The number of rapes reported in Delhi
jumped 23 percent in last year compared
to 2011.
Empowerment
● Sex ratio in India: 1.08 male(s)/female
which means women form 48% of
India’s population.
● Only when this half of the population
is empowered, will the Indian growth
story be complete.
● Male literacy: 73.4 %, Female literacy:
47.8%
● Women constitute only 29% of the
national workforce.
● Only 26% of women in India have
access to formal credit compared to
37% in other developing economies.,

3. Proposed Solution
A new separate ministry for women welfare and empowerment
in state and central government
● Bring all existing organizations for women empowerment under
one umbrella.
● Only women who volunteers to work will be a part of the
department. Recruitment to various formal positions will be done
by department.
● Funding will be provided by central & state governments.
● A new voluntary women patrol force similar to BSF within the
department, with a network of helpline centres across the nation.
● Department will also concentrate on improving employment
opportunities and educating the new generation about the
importance of women empowerment and security.

4. Comparison with existing alternatives
● There are many organizations and NGOs working with same vision,
but no coordination between them.
● Most of their works are inefficient because of lack of funds and co-
ordination.
Now, collaboration of all these organizations will improve the
networking, which in turn will improve the efficiency of dealing with
security issues.
● The male-female equality concept should be implanted in the
minds of children of India through various co-curricular
educational programs implemented by the department at schools.
● Simultaneously, sex education should be provided to girl children
at schools and make them aware of their rights and safety
measures against violence.

5. Collaboration of different organizations working for
women welfare and safety
❖ All India Women’s Conference
❖ Gulabi Gang
❖ Sampada Gramin Mahila Sanstha
❖ Appan Samachar
❖ Mahila Aatma Raksha Samiti
❖ Self-employed women’s association of India
❖ Bharatiya Grameen Mahila Sangh
Bring all of them under the new department in respective state
or central government. It’ll result in a huge network.

6. All India Helpline Number
❏ Women in India are not aware of whom to contact under an
emergency situation.
❏ There will be a large network of helpline centres across the nation
working under the department.
❏ An All India Helpline Number for women to deal with unsafe
situations.
❏ Due to the large network, the information could be passed to the
nearest location within seconds, which in turn will enable the
centre to act immediately and effectively.
❏ Currently, the information or complaint is passed to the nearest
police stations. However, this system is not effective as even some
the police officers cannot be trusted.
❏ Since the proposed department consists of only women
volunteers, it’ll be more comfortable for women to contact them
during unsafe situations.

7. Increased Employment Opportunities
❖ Since all the members of the department are women, it apparently
increases the employment opportunities for women.
❖ Educationally qualified women who are ready to volunteer should
be recruited by the department to various positions to take care of
the helpline centres, educational programs at schools and other
formal positions.
❖ The department will also consist of a collaborative unit of various
existing organizations of self-employed women. A larger network
will improve the exposure and thus employment opportunities.

8. References
● India Demographics Profile 2013
● United Nations Development Programme: Annual Report
● Indiawomenstat.com
● List of women's organizations - Wikipedia