Self Defence- The Need of the Hour, Addressed

On the 11^th of August, we, at CRY, in collaboration with Hope of People Everywhere, organised an event on “Self-defence” for children from our Public Action Group at Dwarka. It goes without saying what a thoughtfully chosen topic, “self-defence”, is for an event catering to the children of our society. In today’s climate, not only the lives of girls, but that of every child, irrespective of gender and age, is in constant danger whenever they step out of the house. Sometimes, threats to individual safety and integrity loom within the households, under the guise of relatives who have perverted the sanctity of the relation that they share with the child. The newspapers thrust before our face such grim realities and frightening truths almost every day, that individual safety is something, everyone should genuinely worry about. Given the not so colourful and happy scenario, the two teams conceived an event that serves the need of the hour. What is the need of the hour, you ask? It is the knowledge, both theoretical and practical, of how to defend oneself in times of need.

The CRY volunteers assembled with the children from the Dwarka PAG (a whopping 40 plus in numbers) at the Bharat Vihar Community Hall in Dwarka. It was of much significance that they were introduced to the concept of self-defence, because leaving them ignorant could, in the long run, put their lives at risk. It was amazing to see the CRY volunteers, continuously busy in maintaining decorum, since the eagerness with which the children were looking forward to the event made them impatient. The event started at around 11 am and stretched over a span of approximately two hours.

When the event commenced, it was pleasing to note that “self-defence” was not a completely alien terminology to the tiny tots. Many of the kids could relate to it as “swayam raksha”. However, those who were the youngest few among the group of children, did not know what self-defence meant, and hence were eager to learn about it. The carefully crafted event conducted by the Hope of People Everywhere team consisted of many exercises. Firstly, there was a theoretical discourse on what are the different danger zones of the body and how can a ‘good touch’ be discerned from a ‘bad one’. The children were provided with the outline of the human body and were asked to mark those areas which according to them are danger zones. Every child had some different answer, but a majority of them had 4 points in common, namely, lips, chest, hips and the area between the thighs. After this, the children were divided into three groups: children less than 8 years old, boys greater than 8 years old and girls greater than 8 years old. Once the groups had been formed, each group was called and taught how to defend themselves from strangers who approach them with malicious intent, by shouting and lifting their hands, thus forcing such wrong doers to retreat. Other aspects of practical knowledge imparted comprised of various karate moves that were taught both, to the boys and to the girls. 

It must be mentioned that the CRY volunteers encouraged the children to speak up instead of feeling shy. With constant encouragement, one could clearly see how a shaky “NO” became a loud and decisive “NO” when the children were being to made to practise how to hit a hand and say “No” to any physical gesture they feel uncomfortable about. In the backdrop of constant encouragement from the familiar faces of the volunteers, the children showed sincere willingness to learn more and executed the self-defence tactics with the required confidence and boldness.  Many hypothetical situations were also discussed and the children were asked as to how they would come out of such dangerous situations. The answers given by the children clearly showed that they understood whatever was taught to them throughout the workshop and remembered every detail. This only establishes the fact that the event was a success. The team from Hope of People Everywhere and CRY were successful in their endeavours yet again in positively impacting the lives of these children. 

What the children learnt during the course of the event will come to their aid whenever they fall in trouble. The way their personalities were shaped into being bold and confident can be used as a yardstick to estimate the success of the event in delivering what it had intended to. However, the most important thing that they were made to come to terms with was the fact that it is necessary to say “No”, aloud, no matter what the situation is, as long as it threatens one’s safety. It taught them to speak up by shedding the last iota of fear in them. Fear should be cast aside and shying away is not at all a solution. Voicing your own approval or disapproval aloud and decisively plays a major role in protecting your own self. A ‘bad touch’ should not be entertained irrespective of the person who is doing it. These were the crucial things that were taught to the children and truly it will help them defend themselves in perilous situations. It is wonderful to see CRY and HOPE have come together to address the need of the hour and make the children better equipped at facing the world. 

-Akanksha Chattopadhyay

CRY Volunteer