The Samajwadi Party led by former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Monday announced the formation of Samajwadi Sabla-Suraksha Vahini, coinciding with the festival of Raksha Bandhan.

Yadav said that in the present context, the move will take the new concept of ‘women protection’ to the common people by bringing positive changes in their attitude towards women through goodwill efforts and spreading the ideas of equality.

“Samajwadi Sabla-Suraksha Vahini will not just remain a mere statement. It will not just be a formality. Taking lessons from the past, it will shake the ‘present’ and make it more conscious about women’s safety and empowerment with the help of far-reaching concrete steps,” he said.

Akhilesh Yadav said: “Samajwadi Sabla-Suraksha Vahini has been formed to increase the self-confidence of women. It will do the very important work of ensuring women’s all-round empowerment through various programs on subjects like economic empowerment and women’s safety issues.”

“The feeling of security in a woman becomes a strong basis for the continuity of her education, her efficiency, activeness and self-reliance and to live with respect in the family and society. The more secure a woman is, the more her activity will increase and the more her economic contribution will increase, as well as her family-social respect and contribution to the development of the country and the world,” claimed Yadav.

He said that this is a campaign for ‘complete freedom of half of the population’ for the launch of which other festival could be better than a holy festival like ‘Raksha Bandhan’ but it will not be a festival of just one day. Rather, it will be a form of active awareness every moment, everywhere, every day which will lead to a major socio-mental change while keeping women safe and empowering them economically, he added.

Yadav said that “our guiding principle is – Women should be both a symbol and proof of ‘power’. Therefore, there is a call and request to the women power of all classes and sections of the society to come forward to join ‘Samajwadi Sabla-Suraksha Vahini’ and help other women in making them economically-socially capable. Make your contribution.”