Self Defence for 1000 young girls in Nagpur, India

From Prachi, Personal safety trainer at BH Society Amravati:

Our organisation runs a project on violence free schools in Amravati and Yavatmal. We do personal safety education for both girls and boys. They learn about safe touch and unsafe touch and what they can do to increase their safety and wellbeing. Like this we raise their awareness for abuse and harassment. Boys and girls realise how much easier their life is without harassment and discrimination. And also, what they themselves can do to change the atmosphere in class.

For the girls we organise the self-defence training to complement the course. It took place in the 1st week of February. Adolescent girls of 4 schools were invited. 28 girls attended the two days training. They liked the training very much. Some were saying that they used to be scared to go somewhere on their own. They thought they always need the protection of their fathers or brothers to go somewhere. They have been told that it’s dangerous to roam around as a girl. It seems this has badly affected their confidence. But after the training they now feel confident that they can defend themselves, how to tackle dangerous situations. The trainer Manisha told them encouraging stories of other girls who escaped a difficult situation who saved their lives. We hear so many horrible stories of girls who get abused and raped. But we never hear positive stories where girls are strong and can protect themselves. Hearing examples of other girls brings so much positive energy. Many girls live with the misconception that they are weak and cannot lift heavy weights; let alone defend themselves. But that’s not true. They can learn useful techniques to protect themselves.

One participant N* shared: “We girls have always been told that heavy work is for the boys. Like to carry chairs to the stage for example. Now I said to my teacher, mam, I can do that myself. So, I lifted the chairs and put them on the stage myself. I’m strong I realised! I’m not dependant on boys to do such things for me. This has also raised my confidence a lot.”

It’s great that we can support girls to discover their strengths and confidence and to learn how to defend themselves.

Archana shares how the ASHA employee training gave her courage and confidence. ASHA stands for "Accredited Social Health Activist." The job is similar to that of a community or village health nurse.

"I participated in a self-defense training, and it has helped me a lot. I am an ASHA worker and during the pandemic I had to do many surveys, distribute medicines and keep family members informed. I was afraid to go to some of the slum areas alone. There are always men hanging around just waiting to stare at and harass women. That scared me a lot. That's why I only dared to go there when I was accompanied by colleagues. But now, after taking part in the training, I know how to deal with such situations well. And I am no longer afraid.

I would like to thank Manisha for helping me turn my fear into strength. Now I move freely in the slums. I am cautious but no longer intimidated. I thank Prabodhini for conducting such wonderful trainings for us. We will send more ASHA workers to this training so they can all benefit. Thank you."