Combating Crime Against Women: First Ever Women's Police Station Starts Functioning In South Kashmir

To promote women's safety, a first-ever women's police station in the South Kashmir region has started functioning. The dedicated place to solve the women-centric crimes will cater to cases from Anantnag, Shopian, Pulwama and Kulgam.

The Director General of Police (DGP), Dilbagh Singh, inaugurated the police station.

Why Separate Women's Police Stations?

The In-Charge of the police station, Tahira Akhter, while emphasising the reason behind such initiative, said, "Opening up separate Women's Police Stations will provide an opportunity to the women of the respective areas to come forward more freely to report crimes, as they would be able to express their grievances more comfortably," The Print reported.

She added that women officers would also be sensitive toward understanding the complaints of female victims. The main motive for opening such police posts in South Kashmir is to curb the increasing crime rate against women in different forms: domestic violence, femicide, and sexual assault.

The residents of South Kashmir also appreciated the initiative taken by the administration. A resident, Rumisa Jan, said, "As crimes against women are increasing, women must come forward. Now they will have someone who will listen to their problems without hesitation. Only women can understand other women."

The DGP, Dilbagh Singh, also inaugurated one women's police station in the Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur district in February 2022. He said that such police posts across Jammu and Kashmir territory would invite more women complainants to file cases freely and without hesitation.

Crime Against Women In India

The crime against women in different forms is not just prevalent in the valleys of Kashmir; it's spread countrywide. In 2020, the crime against women in the Kashmir zone witnessed an increase of 443, taking it to 2,393 cases from 1,950 cases reported in the last years.

According to the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), the number of criminal cases against women has increased 11 per cent in the last few years.

In India, there are several institutes that look after criminal cases against women. For instance, the Government's national helpline (1091 and 181) registers domestic abuse complaints, and the National Commission (7827170170) For Women also have a helpline for women who face sexual and domestic violence.

Despite such facilities available nationwide, the crime rate is significantly increasing. To overcome such a significant increase in the crime rate against women, the initiative of installing women-dedicated police posts will be effective.

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