BHOPAL: The state government is set to teach martial arts to girls for self-defence to arrest the rising incidents of crime against women. The women and child development department, along with the youth welfare department, is going to begin the campaign on February 24.
As part of the drive, 22,000 girls will be imparted training in judo and karate for self-defence. After a 15-day training, the girls will be given certificates on March 8 — International Women’s Day. Besides self-defence, the girls will be taught how to attack a criminal so that nobody can get away with teasing them.
An incident in which a girl was raped and efforts were made to kill her came to light in the Kolar area of the city. To avoid such incidents, the girls will be taught how to handle criminals. Other girls will be taught martial arts through those who are going to be trained from March 24.
The women and child welfare department wants to make a chain of this campaign so that most of the girls in the state may learn martial arts. Principal secretary of the department Ashok Shah said the training would begin across the state on February 24.
The trainers of martial arts of the sports department would train the girls in blocks, he said, adding that the events would continue.