No fear of the dark

With Bengaluru being an educational hub of repute, students, especially girls, have to bear with harassment, road rage and mugging. To deal with this, many of them are picking up the basics of self-defence. They say that the kicks, punches and blocks that they have learnt in bits and pieces, either in school or self-defence classes, come in handy whenever they are in a sticky situation. They also point out that one must remain calm, and be bold and fearless during such times.

Get up, stand up...
Sanjana George, a student of third-year BA, Mount Carmel College, has done a course in mixed martial arts and armed herself with all the basics of self-defence. “Why should women hesitate to protect themselves? It is their body and self-respect that they are guarding. Every woman must be strong and not shy away from speaking out or acting against what she thinks or feels is wrong. Women must not fall prey to any kind of harassment.”

Fight the fright
Amandeep Kaur, a student of second-year BSc, FAD, Army Institute of Fashion Design, says, “The first requirement when defending yourself is to be bold and never get scared. Banish whatever fear you have because it can really weaken you and leave you feeling lost and helpless. You can use whatever self-defence techniques you have learnt only if you are confident. Since I live away from home, I always try to be as bold and strong as possible in any situation.”

Why only women?
Kinjal, a student of first-year MBA, New Horizon College of Management, says, “Why is it that only women must learn self-defence techniques? Why should men misbehave with women in the first place? These are questions that need to be answered. Men must be taught to respect women from their childhood. Women wouldn’t have to guard themselves and learn self-defence moves in the first place if men behaved themselves. Safety is a basic human right and women must feel safe wherever they go.”  

Why only women?
Kinjal, a student of first-year MBA, New Horizon College of Management, says, “Why is it that only women must learn self-defence techniques? Why should men misbehave with women in the first place? These are questions that need to be answered. Men must be taught to respect women from their childhood. Women wouldn’t have to guard themselves and learn self-defence moves in the first place if men behaved themselves. Safety is a basic human right and women must feel safe wherever they go.”  

Back to basics
Mariam Sheriff, a student of first-year BA, Mount Carmel College, feels that all women must indulge in some kind of sport and definitely learn self-defence techniques as they keep the mind alert and leave one feeling confident. “Those who have learnt the basics of self-defence are more alert than the others. It helps them think fast and act even faster if they ever face a dangerous situation.”