Under attack from Opposition, BJP govt. in Odisha launches ‘Shaktishree’ for safety of girls in colleges

Under attack from the Opposition over the death of a girl, who set herself on fire on the campus of her college in Balasore over alleged sexual harassment, Chief Minister Mohan Majhi-led government in Odisha on Saturday announced a special programme, Shaktishree, to ensure safety of girls in institutes of higher education in the State.

“The State government has decided to launch a programme to ensure the safety and security of girl students in colleges and universities. This initiative is in response to the rise in crimes against girl students in recent days across institutions of higher education. This new scheme aims to prevent such incidents and keep students safe. This initiative is named Shaktishree Programme,” the Chief Minister said in Bhubaneswar.

This programme will be implemented across all 16 universities and 730 government and government-aided colleges under the the Higher Education Department of the State.

Shaktishree, based on eight different key components, will help ensure a safe academic environment in colleges and universities and to provide self-defence training to undergraduate and postgraduate girl students, the government said.

The announcement comes after a 20-year-old Odisha college student, who set herself ablaze on the campus following alleged sexual harassment by a professor of her college, died of injuries at AIIMS Bhubaneswar. As per reports, despite lodging a formal complaint and seeking help from the principal, her pleas were ignored, leading to the tragic incident.

Student-run cells

The State government proposed to set up a permanent ‘Shaktishree Empowerment Cell’ in every college and university, which will be operated by girl students.

“Each cell will be managed by a girl student designated as Shaktishree Saathi and a woman faculty member as Shaktishree Sanyojika (coordinator). Additionally, five working women designated as Shakti Appa (sister), nominated by the district collector, will function as mentors. These Shakti Appas will visit the institutions every three months and act as mentors to the girl students,” said Mr. Majhi.

The cell will organise a six-day training programme in batches for girl students on self-defence, legal rights, and mental health.

Mobile app to raise complaints

A Shaktishree mobile app will also be made available to students. This is expected to spread awareness of Internal Complaints Committees (ICC), their rules and functions, and contact details of members. Moreover, it will help a girl to confidentially report complaints via text, audio, or video, which will directly reach the ICC chairperson of her institution.

If a student feels her issue is not resolved by the ICC, she can escalate it to the local committee. A detailed standard operating procedure will soon be issued by the Higher Education Department.

The government has also recommended for a code of conduct for teachers and non-teaching staff, who will be required to complete an annual online training module to enhance awareness of women’s safety, gender sensitivity, and professional ethics.

A campaign named SAFE (Shaktishree Actions for Female Empowerment) will be launched to raise awareness on gender equality and women’s empowerment. It will include bi-annual self-defence camps and awareness workshops on women’s rights and safety. This will boost the self-confidence of girl students and help foster a secure academic environment. Moreover, each college will submit an annual Campus Safety Report by December 31 every year.

The government will bring all colleges and universities under CCTV surveillance with a separate control room for surveillance.