Self Defence for 1000 young girls in Nagpur, India

My name is Lata. I live in Nagpur. My husband passed away early due to a heart attack. I have a three-year-old daughter. After my husband's death, I lived with my mother, my brother and his wife. When I needed money and asked my brother for it, he used to ask me a lot of questions. I was really bullied by my brother, mother and sister-in-law. So I thought I had to become independent and decided to do a nursing course. During this course I participated in a self-defence training. This training was very helpful and useful for me.

I completed the nursing course and got a job in a hospital. One day I had to do a double shift and came home late. I had texted that I would be late because I had to do another shift. But when I came home later, my family asked me many questions. I told them I was at the hospital and had to do a double shift, but they didn't believe me. My brother hit me in front of my daughter. She cried, but he was still hitting me. My daughter with her three years also suffered from all the things that happened to me. I felt that I would like to kill myself. But then I remembered what I had learned in self-defence training.

I realised that violence happened to me and I must not tolerate it. I learned that in self-defence training. I then moved out of home and have been living with my daughter in a rented flat ever since. I am alone with my daughter, but I am able and confident to defend myself and my daughter in any violent situation. I feel liberated and live a violence-free life. I live happily with my daughter. And I am satisfied that I am providing her with a safe and healthy atmosphere, which is necessary for her mental and physical health.

Many thanks to Prabodhini for the wonderful and very helpful self-defence training!