Centre asks states to impart compulsory self-defence classes

Step taken to help girls gain confidence to fight harassment

The Centre has advised all state governments to make arrangements for training girls from the upper primary classes in self-defence and include it in school curriculum.

The suggestion, made by the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry to the state education secretaries, is aimed at helping the girls gain confidence to fight sexual harassment.

“The ministry wrote to all secretaries of education in all states at the end of (this) January, saying specifically that from the upper primary classes, physical education classes should include training in self-defence for girls,” Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Shashi Tharoor, told the Rajya Sabha on Friday.

He was replying to a supplementary question by CPM member T N Seema who wanted to know whether the ministry would consider making martial arts and other forms of self-defence training mandatory in schools. “The male-dominated value system in our society compels girls to become more and more submissive when they grow up. It really affects their self-confidence to defend themselves from attacks and other harassment,”
she underlined.

“We have anticipated this concern. This is, indeed, a very legitimate concern,” Tharoor said in his reply. The government had always been “anxious” that physical education should not be seen as something for the boys alone, he maintained.

“We have always insisted that it be extended to both genders. But now, particularly, this new element has been added that training in self-defence should be an extremely important element of girls’ physical education in all schools,” he said. “We have, certainly, given a renewed impetus to serious consideration of action on this issue following the horrific incident that galvanised the nation at the end of last year.”

The UGC has set up a task force to look into women’s safety on college and university campuses. The team of experts will suggest specific measures. Letters have been sent to all universities, encouraging them to cooperate with the task force. “At the school level, we have, fortunately, fewer incidents of this nature, but we are proceeding to improve sensitisation courses in schools,” Tharoor said.  “We are also introducing a course on gender studies and human rights in the next academic year in the CBSE-affiliated schools.  So, we are moving forward, in addition to all the material that we are already working on and have been working on in this area.”