The Pune Zilla Parishad (ZP) has started self-defence classes for girl students in government schools.
In the first phase, 2,500 female students from classes 8 to 10 will be taught self-defense in 72 schools, said Jamsingh Girase, District Program Officer (Women and Child Development). A budget of 2.5 million has been allocated for this.
ZP has also asked non-governmental organizations and groups to help in this endeavour.
“It is not possible to start this course everywhere at once. Therefore, we appeal to NGOs to help provide this training. We want to provide all girls at their developmental stage so they can protect themselves. A budget of 2.5 million has been allocated for this. We have started a batch of 35 students in selected schools in Gram Panchayats. For this, we have started initial efforts and hope to get support from the organization for this,’ Girase said.
Last week, a 39-year-old dance teacher from a private school in the city was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two boys amid concerns for the safety of the students. However, the self-defense training initiated by ZP is specifically for girls, not boys.
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