Centre Mulls Self-defence Training Programme for Girl Students
HYDERABAD: The Union HRD ministry is likely to collaborate with police departments of various states to introduce self-defence training for girl students in all schools across the country. Smriti Irani, Union HRD minister, on Thursday said “The proposal will be placed in the next meeting of all education ministers. Initially it may begin in three or four states”
She was interacting with the women IPS officers through a video conference at the international conference on ‘Women in Law Enforcement’, held at the Sardar Vallabhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA) here on Thursday.
The three day conference concluded on Thursday. Responding to a suggestion made by one of the officers at the conference, the minister supported the idea of self-defence training for girls in schools. In some states like Rajasthan and Gujarat, the police department has already introduced such programmes which proven to be useful.
Mamata, a Rajasthan cadre IPS officer told the minister that the programme received good response from the schools. With support from the MHRD, it can be extended to other states as well, she advised. During interaction with the minister, the women police officers also suggested to establish a National Police University to have better coordination between the police and academics. Saying this proposal has to come from the home ministry, the HRD minister assured to forward it to the Union home minister.
Further, the minister revealed a new initiative by her ministry, where women achievers from various fields including police and other Armed Forces would be invited to schools to interact with students. It helps to motivate the girl students towards taking up challenging jobs, she said. The MHRD also has a plan to include more lessons on gender sensitivity in the school curriculum.
The three-day conference also saw discussions on various other issues related to women in law enforcement agencies in different countries. The statistics shared in the conference shown that women have a limited representation in the police forces in South Asian countries. According to the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI)’s recent report, women officers constitute only 6.11 percent of India’s police force.
Aruna Bahuguna, director, SVPNPA, said there is plan to conduct second edition with participation of women police officers from more countries.
Irani suggested that next time around a University from India would be SVPNPA’s academic partner. Prof. Tracey Green of CSU, Australia, was also present at the event. The NPA organised this conference in collaboration with the Charles Sturt University (CSU) of Australia.