INTRODUCTION
Women are not born, but made. What better than India to exemplify this statement by Simone de Beauvoir. With the whole world celebrating International Women’s Day with great pomp and show, it would be only apt to analyse the position and space Indian women occupy today and comparing it to the time 60 years ago when the country had just gained independence. With women participating in nationalist movements, to being pushed into the domestic household space, to their resurgence as superwomen today, women in our country have seen it all. There have been innumerable debates about gender in India over the years. Much of it includes women’s positing in society, their education, health, economic position, gender equality. What one can conclude from such discussions is that women have always held a certain paradoxical position in our developing country. The status of women in India has been subject to many great changes over the past few millennia. In modern India, women have held high offices including that of the president, prime minister, speaker of the Lok Sabha, leader of the opposition, union minister, chief minister, and governor. Although the status of women has brought desirable changes in their status, self-protection to them is poor. According to statistics, a woman who is only 21 years of age has a 25% risk of suffering violent crime in her life. The self-protection skill is important to every girl. Rape is the commonest crime against women, which is reported that for every 20 minutes, a woman is raped in India, making rapes the commonest crime in the country. According to NCRB, 98% of the rapes in the country are committed by someone known to the victim. A nearly 10% of the rapes are reported and out of which, 25.5% of the felons are convicted. Considering the burden of insecurity for women in India, the investigators have taken steps to aware knowledge on self-protection.
OBJECTIVES
• To assess the pretest and post-test knowledge regarding self-protection,
• To determine the effectiveness of self-defence training program, and
• To associate knowledge regarding self-protection with their selected demographic variables.
BENEFITS OF SELF-DEFENSE TRAINING
Physical Fitness & Self-Confidence: Self-defence training involves various exercises and techniques that improve strength, flexibility, agility, and cardiovascular health.Learning self-defence skills boosts self-esteem and confidence, as individuals become more capable of protecting themselves and handling challenging situations.
Situational Awareness: Training in self-defence enhances awareness of one's surroundings, enabling individuals to recognize potential threats and take appropriate actions to avoid or address them. Participants learn practical techniques to defend themselves against physical attacks, increasing their ability to protect themselves and others in dangerous situations.
Mental Resilience: Self-defense training instils mental toughness, teaching individuals to remain calm and focused under pressure, which can be beneficial in both physical confrontations and everyday life challenges. Regular practice of self-defence requires discipline and commitment, helping individuals develop a strong work ethic and self-control. Engaging in physical activity and practicing self-defence techniques can reduce stress levels, promote relaxation, and improve overall mental well-being.
OVERVIEW OF TRAINING PROGRAM
Keeping in view, the rising number of crimes against girls in the country, Nishchay foundation in association with Delhi police organised a self-defence training program at Sabzi mandi police station on 9th June, 2024, in which trained officials of Delhi police taught girls to become psychologically, intellectually and physically strong enough to protect themselves in times of distress. In this program around 150 women and girls participated from various part of Delhi.
Adv Vaibhav Tomar addressed that it is important to provide self-defence training to women and girls to ensure their safety and security. Self-defence training is a life skill that helps girls to be more aware of their surroundings and be prepared for the unexpected at any time. In Today’s world women’s safety is a one of the biggest issues wherein self defense education and training techniques should be mandatory to be given to the children at their young age.
Adv Yukti Rathi discussed that Self-defense training in today’s competitive world has taken very important place to protect the female girls from any violence occurring to them. In today’s situation teenage girls going into streets without any safety measures is one of the risk factors in society. Teenage girls getting abused not only by men but also by their own people it can be of their same gender. The objective of the study is to empower the girls in self defense techniques which help them to be independent and overcome their fears.
BASIC SELF-DEFENCE TECHNIQUES TAUGHT DURING THE PROGRAM
Physical
The use of direct force to protect oneself against an external act of assault is known as physical self-defence. Such force can be trained and equipped or disarmed, depending on the defender's emotional and physical readiness.
Unarmed
Many martial arts forms teach self-defence or include self-defence tactics. Some martial arts teach about when to get out of a gunfight or break free from a punch, while others teach you how to fight. In today's world, many martial arts schools combine methods and tactics, and they also adapt self-defence instruction to the needs of their students.
Armed
For self-defence, a wide range of equipment may be used. The best option is determined by the challenge, the victim and the defender's experience. Legal constraints also have a major impact on self-defence choices. Hair pins, tie-wraps, ballpoint pen, scissors, flashlights, baseball bats, books, key rings with keys, kitchenware and umbrellas can all be used as improvised weapons for self-defence.
CONCLUSION
Family members play a vital part in helping and motivating young girls to tackle challenges, as well as teaching male and female children equity. Not only do females should be able to negotiate back when the circumstances warrant it, but our social norms, such as the girl's ability to walk alone in the dark streets, need to be revamped. Teaching self defense tactics is a daunting task, and if there is no psychological intervention prior to performing the instruction, it would be much more difficult. As a result, one must mentally empower the females to be secure enough to adapt to any danger circumstances that might arise in their lives.
In conclusion, our self-defence training program equips participants with invaluable skills to protect themselves in various situations. Through comprehensive instruction and practical exercises, individuals gain confidence, awareness, and the ability to respond effectively to potential threats. This program fosters not only physical preparedness but also mental resilience, empowering participants to navigate challenging scenarios with confidence and safety.
SOME GLIMPSES OF TRAINING
