THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a masterstroke that would empower women and also create jobs, the Kudumbashree Mission, along with Sports Kerala Federation (SKF), will train women and children across the state in martial arts.
Besides helping women and children become stronger, the initiative will also churn out around 450 professional women martial art instructors in the state. The project, to be implemented in three phases, will be officially launched on International Women’s Day on March 8.
In the first phase, Kudumbashree Mission is planning to conduct a 25-day intensive martial arts training programme for 28 women in Kerala, two from each district. The training will be held at Vattiyoorkavu shooting range.
An official associated with the project said though Kudumbashree has been providing self-defence training to women and children, this is the first time an effort is being made to mould women as professional instructors.
“We are currently identifying women who already know martial arts and will offer them a finishing programme to make them master trainers. Once they finish training, the instructors will coach 30 women in each district,” said an SKF official.
The training programme for the auxiliary group will last around a year. “The two master trainers will handle district-level coaching of select women aged between 18 and 35. Once this is over, the women will be able to conduct classes for students and other women, and earn a livelihood,” said a Kudumbashree Mission official. In the third phase, Kudumbashree plans to offer train at least 10,000 women in martial arts.