Photo Credit : lucknowwants.com
Clear Cut Education, Gender Desk
New Delhi, UPDATED: Oct 05, 2025 04:03 IST
Written By: Janmojaya Barik
When a nation speaks of progress, the dignity and safety of women have to be the priority. Roads, technology, and industries are fine, but real development happens when all women can move, study, and work without fear. Uttar Pradesh’s Mission Shakti, now in its fifth phase, is one such initiative that attempts to make this belief a reality.
What Mission Shakti Stands For
Mission Shakti started in 2020 as a campaign It gradually scaled up to become a broad program incorporating police action, awareness generation, education, and welfare. The present phase, Mission Shakti 5.0, was initiated in September 2025, again during Navratri, and continues for around a month.
The concept is simple: women must have direct access to safety, support, and opportunity. To make it real, the program introduces new measures in daily life in villages, towns, and cities of the state.
Photo Credit: Govt of UP
Female Beat Officers
One of the highlights of Mission Shakti 5.0 is the appointment of women beat officers in all the gram panchayats and urban wards. Uttar Pradesh has approximately 57,000 village panchayats and over 14,000 wards, and the strategy is to deploy women police officers across these units.
This is an essential step. For most women, it may be daunting to walk into a police station. Being able to have a woman officer around instills confidence and trust. Such officers are supposed to call at homes, communicate directly with women, and serve as a liaison between communities and the police institution.
Confidence Building Safety Services
Yet another hands-on initiative is the UP-112 night escort facility. From 10 pm to 6 am, a woman in Lucknow who doesn’t feel comfortable driving out at night can call the helpline, and a police van will escort her home. It is a small service, but it is full of meaning for women who will curtail their movement after dusk.
Also, the government has instructed that Mission Shakti centers be established in each police station. The centers are to be a welcoming and supportive environment with women officers, counselors, and lawyers at hand. The objective is that a woman who reports a complaint should not be alone but rather gets advice and prompt assistance.
Awareness and Recognition
Mission Shakti is not only about policing. It also addresses mindset transformation. Throughout Uttar Pradesh, street theatre, awareness rallies, and workshops are being organized for the promotion of gender equality. In Varanasi, for example, a Mission Shakti 5.0 play challenged stereotypes inhibiting girls’ education.
Recognition is included in the program as well. 33 women and girls were recently awarded for courage and social work in Noida. These instances reflect that empowerment is not just about security but celebrating those women who are bringing about change in society.
One memorable action during this period was a motorcycle rally by more than 18,000 female police officers across state districts. Symbolic, perhaps, but symbols have the power to motivate. Witnessing women in khaki, riding together in numbers, sends a message that safety is not merely a guarantee but a visible assurance.
Photo Credit : Internet
Part of a Larger Effort
Mission Shakti in Uttar Pradesh is also connected with the national Mission Shakti scheme that was introduced by the Union Government in 2021. The national programme has two components: Sambal, dealing with safety and support mechanisms such as helplines and one-stop centres, and Samarthya, dealing with empowerment and welfare schemes.
In the 2025-26 Union Budget, the budgetary provision for Mission Shakti was enhanced, reiterating that women’s development is a national priority.
A Reminder
Mission Shakti 5.0 reminds us that women’s empowerment and safety cannot be hoped for. They need systems, services, and most importantly, a mindset shift. The campaign has provided many encouraging signs from women officers in the field to awareness skits in villages but its true success will be when all this is done every day of the year, not just selected days of the month.
When a nation gets its women to feel secure, it becomes stronger. Mission Shakti, in its latest avatar, is a step in that direction.
