7/30/2019 Self-Defense Workshop for Women -- Report

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Self-defense Workshop for Women

Every year, millions of women and girls worldwide suffer violence, be it domestic violence, rape,

female genital mutilation/cutting, dowry-related killing, trafficking, sexual violence in conflict-

related situations, or other manifestations of abuse. Women aged 15-44 years are more at risk from

rape and domestic violence than from cancer, car accidents, war and malaria, according to World

Bank data.

The conditions are becoming worse in India with every passing day. According to the National Crime

Records Bureau, in India one woman gets raped every 22 minutes. India's apparent nonchalance

towards sexual harassment has escalated into a major crisis. And we're not just talking about the

odd sly remark or attempt to grope a woman but far more serious assaults. India's misplaced

tolerance has helped this cascade into a brutal, violent menace the Delhi gang-rape being the

most recent and melancholic incident, which has come in the purview of the people.

In such a situation, where millions of Indians continue to believe that women invite trouble on

themselves by being careless, self-protection is, at best, one part of a comprehensive solution to

this violence. Keeping this in mind, GBS Yi-Net organized multiple self-defense workshops in various

schools across the city.

Date Venue No. of Trainers Impact Number

Apr 7, 2012 All Children Together Trust 2 25

Aug 18, 2012 Globsyn Business School 2 43

Oct 6, 2012 Sujata Devi Vidya Mandir 2 80

Oct 13, 2012 Yi Kolkata 2 15Nov 4, 2012 CMO Girls High School 5 300

Nov 10, 2012 Parsi Bagan High School 4 350

Jan 11, 2013 Calcutta Anglo Gujarati School 3 120

We did not impact a huge number with this project, but what is more important was the joy in their

eyes, the joy of learning the ways to protect themselves. May be we did not teach all the girls but it

is a small step towards what we want to achieve in a time where protests and plea fall to deaf ears.

The training was imparted by Sensei Anil Kumar Ram, who is an incredibly accomplished martial

artist specializing in the arts of Seishinkai Shito-Ryu Karate, Karate Budokan International, All India

Karate Federation, Indian Nanbudo Federation and Karate-Do Association of Bengal, and his team.

After impacting over 900 girls through our flagship project, GBS Yi-Net is coming out with more Self-

Defense Workshops but, we now shift our focus to women from all walks of life. The workshops

will be organized at Liluah and Howrah on January 27 and February 3, respectively. Workshops are

also scheduled for BD Memorial Girls School and JD Birla Girls High School. We estimate that over

400 girls would be impacted by our forthcoming workshops.