Nirbhay Raho’ Initiative to strengthen Women’s Safety in Rural Areas

New Delhi (Vivek Ojha ) : A three-day Training of Trainers (ToT) programme on “Freedom from Violence: Capacity Building of Elected Women Representatives on Legal Provisions for the Safety and Security of Women” was organised by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj from 25th to 27th May 2026 in New Delhi. The programme was conducted under the Ministry’s Nirbhay Raho initiative being implemented through the Nirbhaya Fund in collaboration with the Ministry of Women and Child Development and National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru.

The programme aimed to strengthen the capacities of Elected Women Representatives and Panchayat representatives on issues relating to women’s safety, legal awareness, gender sensitivity, institutional response mechanisms and community-level support systems. Around 50 participants attended the programme, including representatives from State Institutes of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (SIRD&PRs), School of Excellence in Panchayati Raj (SoEPR) under the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRD&PR), Piramal Foundation, and Transform Rural India Foundation (TRIF).

Under the Ministry’s Nirbhay Raho initiative launched under the Nirbhaya Fund on 11th March 2026, three major interventions are being implemented to strengthen women’s safety and gender-responsive governance in Panchayats. These include Nirbhay Netri, focused on capacity building and legal awareness of Elected Women Representatives; Nirbhay Chetna, aimed at sensitising elected male representatives towards gender equality and women-related issues; and Nirbhay Drishti, which envisages installation of CCTV cameras at strategic rural locations to strengthen technology-enabled safety infrastructure in Panchayats.

The initiative aims to reach nearly 14.5 lakh Elected Women Representatives and around 17.5 lakh Male Elected Representatives across the country through training, awareness, and institutional capacity-building programmes.