At Metro station, CISF women impart self-defence training

The 20-minute mock drill was carried out by a team of 16 CISF women commandos, who were trained for three months in advance self-defence courses. The programme was conceptualised 10 days ago to create a sense of confidence among women.

Different techniques were showcased to tackle rapists, eve-teasers and thieves. These techniques enable women to defend themselves and disarm an attacker using simple tools such as hair pins, ATM cards, pen, books, scarf, etc.

A commuter, Sadhna Sharma (35) said, “This is a very nice initiative. Such kind of training is necessary for every woman, keeping in mind the current circumstances in Delhi. If given a chance,

I will enrol in this programme.”

CISF Deputy Inspector General of DMRC unit, Devdatta Singh, said, “Approximately 28 lakh people travel via Metro everyday and almost one third of them are women. This self-defence programme not only enables them to protect themselves in an enclosed environment but also in larger public spaces. We want to encourage women to empower themselves by learning such skills.”

“We did such programmes at Indraprastha College for Women and Miranda House last year. We also gave them week-long training. We are trying to set up a similar camp at Amity University,” he said.

Officials said the self-defence drills will now be conducted every Tuesday and Friday at Metro stations which fall on the Red Line. Women can give their feedback as well as enrol for similar programmes .

The reporter is a student of EXIMS