Making Self-Defence training mandatory at schools/colleges and it’s necessity

Every fifteen minutes, one woman is sexually assaulted in India. Sounds scary, right? Swiftly hours and hours passes and within one hour from now four women would become rape-victims for the rest of their life. This is what the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2018 annual report says. The same authority NCRB, reported in 2006 that 71% of rape crimes in India go unreported and that too by ignoring marital rapes (cause marital rapes are not categorized under rape in India) . That intends to signify that these records are just gross estimates which appear on the surface.

So even now if you think that this matter is not something worth concerning then you are free to skip the rest of the article.

From time immemorial, women are prey to male aggression and assaults.

Women are too often told to act invisible . The restrictions are imposed from childhood such as — not to talk much in front of men and in some cases, they can’t even leave the house without their husband or brother. They are always taught to stay bound. And this type of attitude only makes them more dependent and plummets their self-confidence. As a result till the time a girl becomes a woman, she ingrains the mentality — she should be behind bars of restrictions.

But that needs to change, we need to teach them to prepare for every kind of unknown attack, they may encounter. All these boundations start from the day a girl child is born, so the feeling of self-dependence needs to be inculcated from their childhood itself in order to mend this mentality.

Girls/women need to realize that they are not meant to seek support at every step they walk, rather they can fight back and they themselves are strong enough to protect themselves.

For this, self-defence training should be given to girls/women as a compulsory practice at schools and colleges.

They should be mentally and physically prepared for every danger they can face in their day to day life.

Self-defence would prepare them for any unforeseen circumstance and can also empower them to help others in time of need. Self-defence training will not only help in making women/girls self-reliant but also will help them to develop self-discipline and confidence. Moreover, such type of training will help an individual in reducing their stress level and keeping them physically fit and will also improve their creative problem solving skills.

With increased involvement of women in corporate and other working sectors where men had been dominating till now, it should be mandatory for the government to look after the safety of women. As the scenario is changing, new steps need to be taken to empower women.

Entitling women with a mindset that — they can fight back and they are self-capable in it, can not be achieved by mere women empowerment workshops and seminars. The hour demands extensive resources and a new way to make them aware of the importance of self-defence practices for getting hold of their safety in their own hands.

Self-defense classes are only one of many possible strategies for preventing violence against women; others include rape education programs instituted in many high schools and colleges, security devices such as personal alarms, chemical sprays, safety precautions (e.g., locking doors or using the “buddy system” when out alone at night), legal reform, and increased police presence.

Let’s have a look to take an overview of what has happened till now in this regard in our country:

• Cops in Bhopal have taken it upon themselves to ensure that the women in the state feel safe.
• The Delhi High Court has directed the state government to implement self-defence training programmes for girls in government schools.
• The Govt. of West Bengal proposed in the current AWP&B of West Bengal RMSA an innovation programme on Girls education wherein an intensive training will be given to at least 1,00,000 girls reading in class IX, X, XI & XII
• The University Grants Commission (UGC) has written to colleges and universities asking them whether they have introduced self-defence programmes for women and if they have taken initiatives against this social strife.

Undoubtedly, the government is stretching its hand too in this regard, but we still need to travel many miles ahead to make it a country wide movement. Making women feel independent is equally important as making the country safe for them.

Many women and girls take up courses of self-defence, especially when they are made easily accessible at schools, universities and workplaces. That is why, we need to make self-defence training easily accessible before it gets too late otherwise the ones who will opt for this opportunity will be none other than the survivors.

~ Jaya Singh