Ministry of Panchayati Raj Conducts Training of Trainers under ‘Nirbhay Raho’ to Strengthen Women’s Safety in Rural India

Ministry of Panchayati Raj Conducts ToT under Nirbhay Raho to Strengthen Women’s Safety in Rural Panchayats

The Ministry of Panchayati Raj conducted a three-day Training of Trainers programme under the Nirbhay Raho initiative to build legal awareness, gender sensitivity and women’s safety capacity among Panchayat representatives across India.

New Delhi, 28 May 2026: The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has conducted a three-day Training of Trainers programme under the ‘Nirbhay Raho’ initiative, aimed at strengthening women’s safety, legal awareness and gender-responsive governance at the grassroots level.

The programme, titled “Freedom from Violence: Capacity Building of Elected Women Representatives on Legal Provisions for the Safety and Security of Women,” was organised from 25 to 27 May 2026 in New Delhi. It focused on preparing trainers who can support elected Panchayat representatives in addressing issues related to violence against women, legal remedies, community response systems and institutional support mechanisms in rural areas.

The initiative is being implemented through the Nirbhaya Fund in collaboration with the Ministry of Women and Child Development and the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru. It is designed to build stronger awareness and response capacity within Panchayati Raj Institutions, especially among Elected Women Representatives and local governance stakeholders.

Initiative to Reach Over 32 Lakh Panchayat Representatives

According to the Ministry, the Nirbhay Raho initiative aims to reach more than 32 lakh elected Panchayat representatives across India through training, sensitisation and capacity-building programmes. This includes nearly 14.5 lakh Elected Women Representatives and around 17.5 lakh male elected representatives.

The scale of the programme reflects the government’s focus on using Panchayati Raj Institutions as a key platform for strengthening women’s safety, dignity and access to justice in rural India.

Three Key Components: Nirbhay Netri, Nirbhay Chetna and Nirbhay Drishti

The Ministry has identified three major interventions under the Nirbhay Raho initiative:

Nirbhay Netri focuses on capacity building and legal awareness among Elected Women Representatives. It aims to empower women leaders at the Panchayat level with knowledge of legal provisions, survivor support systems and institutional mechanisms.

Nirbhay Chetna aims to sensitise elected male representatives on gender equality, women-related issues and their role in building safer communities.

Nirbhay Drishti focuses on technology-enabled safety infrastructure, including the installation of CCTV cameras at strategic rural locations to enhance safety and monitoring in Panchayat areas.

Together, these components are expected to strengthen both social awareness and institutional response systems in rural governance.

Around 50 Participants Attend the Training Programme

The Training of Trainers programme was attended by around 50 participants, including representatives from State Institutes of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, the School of Excellence in Panchayati Raj under the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Piramal Foundation and Transform Rural India Foundation.

The inaugural session was addressed by Shri Vivek Bharadwaj, Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, and Dr. Surendrakumar Bagde, Director General, Indian Institute of Public Administration.

In his address, Shri Vivek Bharadwaj highlighted the important role of Panchayati Raj Institutions in strengthening awareness, inclusion and access to justice at the grassroots level. He emphasised that informed and sensitised Panchayat leadership can play a major role in addressing issues related to women’s safety, dignity and security.

Focus on Legal Awareness, Gender Sensitivity and Survivor Support

The three-day programme covered a wide range of critical issues, including gender-based violence, domestic violence, child marriage, cyber safety, survivor support systems, legal remedies, victim compensation, community participation and first responder mechanisms at the Panchayat level.

The training followed a participatory and practice-oriented approach. It included expert lectures, group discussions, case studies, moot court exercises, role-play simulations and experiential learning methods. These methods were used to ensure that trainers could understand real-life challenges and effectively guide Panchayat representatives in the field.

Sessions were conducted by legal experts, academicians and practitioners, with a strong focus on practical understanding of legal provisions, survivor-sensitive institutional responses, referral mechanisms and community-level engagement.

Panchayats as Frontline Institutions for Women’s Safety

The programme underlines the growing importance of Panchayats as frontline institutions in building safer rural communities. Since Panchayat representatives are often the first point of contact for citizens in villages, their awareness of legal provisions and response systems can significantly improve support for women and girls facing violence or insecurity.

By strengthening the capacity of both women and men representatives, the Nirbhay Raho initiative seeks to create a more inclusive, responsive and accountable local governance framework.

Scaling Up Across States and Union Territories

The programme concluded with participant feedback and discussions on scaling up the initiative across States and Union Territories through a cascading model of training. Under this approach, trained participants are expected to further support capacity-building efforts at the state, district and local levels.

The Ministry’s initiative is an important step towards building women-friendly Panchayats and strengthening community-led efforts for women’s safety, dignity and justice in rural India.

Suggested Image Caption

Participants attend the Training of Trainers programme under the Ministry of Panchayati Raj’s ‘Nirbhay Raho’ initiative in New Delhi, focused on strengthening women’s safety and legal awareness in rural Panchayats.

Key Highlights

Women Safety, Panchayati Raj, Nirbhay Raho, Rural Governance, Skill Development, Capacity Building, Legal Awareness, Women Empowerment, Gender Equality, Nirbhaya Fund, Rural India, Panchayat Representatives