Mahila Suraksha Dal to be set up in each district of Delhi

Delhi government will soon set up 320 Mahila Suraksha Dals (MSDs) across the national capital to address the issues of women safety at public place.
One MSD in each of the 11 districts of the city will be launched on the day of Raksha Bandhan as a pilot program.
This decision was taken at a high level meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary today, a Delhi government official said.
"It was decided that instead of creating new parallel structures, Awaaz Uthao Project initiated by the Delhi Government which addresses women safety issues, will be renamed as MSD and will be further strengthened both in terms of composition and functioning," the official said.

Under the initiative, MSDs will work at the grassroot level to address the issues of women safety at public place and support women in distress including situations of sexual harassment, assault and rape.
These MSDs will comprise of retired army personnel, representatives from the local community (both men and women) and local NGO representatives.

"It is envisaged that these MSDs would act as an effective instrument of change in their respective communities and bring about perceptible improvement both in societal mindset towards gender issues and physical environment.
"They would be created in such a way that the community is not only involved but plays an important role. These women's security teams would not be a parallel police force but more like private security guards who will not only undertake safety audits to identify key security issues pertaining to women in the community but would also mobilize the local police and administrative machinery to take appropriate action," said the official.

The locations in districts where MSDs will be set up have been identified by Delhi government after a discussion with the Rajya Sainik Board.