Mom To A 7-Year-Old, This Woman Is Pushing For Self-Defence To Be Included In School Curriculum

The things that were thus far hiding in plain sight have finally been exposed. The result? A wave of #MeToo that is unstoppable and higher and mightier than anyone could have expected. Every single day, we wake up to news of women and even children (both boys and girls) being sexually assaulted. It is gut-wrenching but there seems to be no end to it.

So, what do we do? Just sit there and hope it doesn’t happen to us or our children?

Neha Srimal is a self-defence coach, a black-belt in Taekwondo and mother to a 7-year -old girl. She is campaigning for self-defence to be included in school curriculum so that children learn the basics in the school itself.

Braingroom

In her petition to Minister of School Education and Sports Department, Maharashtra State, Neha points out the following (sic):

January, 2018 – A 15-year-old girl brutally raped in Jind, Haryana

March 2018 – An 18-year-old girl fights off three men harassing her and hands them over to police – in Birbhum, Bengal

Now look at this fact - The girl from Birbhum was learning martial arts for last 10 months.

This brave student shows us that girls can be empowered to face such situations with confidence, rather than feeling scared, victimised and helpless.

In India, over 53% children face sexual abuse. Whenever any such incidence happens, we just look at police and legal system for help. We never imagine that a girl can also have power to deal with such situations.

She further states that self-defence should be taught in schools class 5 onwards because defending oneself is not martial arts. It’s mental, physical and psychological preparedness to deal with any danger from undesirable elements. That’s why she feels that it should be compulsory in all schools.

Newsgram

While her campaign is thus far centred in Maharashtra, this should most definitely be extended to the rest of the country. She further goes on to say (sic):

It is quite economic to implement. A focused 5 to 10 hours training every year is all we need. Internal physical education teachers or sports teachers can be trained to impart this training.

Having learnt the self-defence techniques over a period, these children/teenagers will not only be able to protect themselves, but also others around them.

Bengal government has launched yearly 3-weeks self-defence workshops in undergraduate colleges. A college in Pune has already taken a proactive step and has made self-defence training as part of their curriculum.

It is our turn now to ensure that every teenager comes out of school equipped and empowered to defend self. Let’s help make our children their own bodyguards.

Her petition on change.org has 109,803 signatures and counting.?