Women in India will soon be able to find quick amends when caught in distressing situations. The government has finalised a blueprint with cell phone manufacturers who have agreed to provide in-built mechanism to have a panic button on the gadgets to help women seek help when needed, reported The Times of India.

‘Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi gave the information to the Lok Sabha on Friday while answering questions on gender disparity in the country.’

Acknowledging that India ranked poorly than even some South Asian countries on the UN’s Gender Parity Index, Maneka said, ‘From now on every mobile phone will have an in-built panic button. But in case of all old cell phones you can go to the person who owns the company or the dealer and they will adjust it for you. If a woman is in trouble, she can just press the button on the phone itself and she will get immediate help.’

‘The Women Ministry worked out on the panic button plan with the Ministry of Information Technology last week and is now in the advanced stages of finalising it. Maneka has held meetings with stakeholders in this connection.’

‘The move envisages a situation where a woman, faced with a crime, can immediately seek help by pressing a panic button which will send an SMS to the pre-listed three most trusted contacts of the victim in question. The button will also send to these contacts the location of the woman in distress and will be placed on the cell phone in a way that it remains data protected.’

‘The ministry is also in the process of launching a new scheme called ‘Special Police Volunteers’ which will roll from the next month.’

‘Under the scheme, one girl, over the age of 21 and having finished her Class XII, will be appointed in every village. Her job will be to keep an eye on any crime, potential crime against women, from wife beating to eve-teasing to molestation. In fact, it also means keeping an eye on parents who are preventing the girl children from going to school, on malnutrition being deliberately created by giving women and girls less food. So, special police volunteers will go a long way,’ Maneka said.