Delhi women turn to self-defence
INDIA: After nearly three weeks of lurid reporting on a horrifying
gang-rape in New Delhi, women in the Indian capital say they are more
anxious than ever, leading to a surge in interest in self-defence
classes.
But the December 16 gang-rape, in which a 23-year-old student was
repeatedly violated on a moving bus and assaulted with an iron bar, has
brought concern to new levels amid increased focus on the city's safety
record.
Self-defence trainer Anuj Sharma says he has fielded a flurry of
calls from concerned women interested in taking classes with his
Invictus Survival Sciences training institute in south Delhi.
"There has been a certain surge in the level of demand for services
like self-defence and personal protective training," Sharma told AFP at
a class in a school hall, echoing comments from other martial arts
experts in the city.
"I think this infamous case has forced people to think that they can
no longer put this (safety issue) on the backburner, self-defence is a
priority for them," he said.
Smriti Iyer, a 23-year-old student like the Delhi victim, says she
started coming to Sharma's classes to protect herself better and her
example has sparked interest in other friends.
In the classes, Sharma teaches her basic self-defence, including how
to squirm free from the grip of an attacker and disable them with a
punch or kick to the groin.
"I think women have always known that they have to look after
themselves, but after this incident a lot of people of my age have
really started taking this up," said Iyer.
Across the sprawling city of 16 million, shopkeepers say sales of
pepper spray and rape alarms are up, while many young women report that
relatives have become more concerned than ever about their welfare. One
newspaper reported this week that women had started coming forward to
apply for gun licences. Jai Shankar, owner of a general store on the
Janpath main road in central New Delhi, told AFP that sales of pepper
sprays had been "brisk" since the gang-rape, which has galvanised
disgust over rising crime against women.
"Earlier we would sell just a few cans in a month. But more women
have been coming to my shop asking for the spray," he told AFP.
Ashima Sagar, a 22-year-old sales assistant in Shankar's shop who
takes the "relatively safer" metro train with reserved carriages for
women at night, says her mother has become almost paranoid. "I leave my
workplace around nine in the night.
After this incident, even if I am late by 10 minutes, my mother gets
anxious and calls me to find out if I am OK," Sagar told AFP.
AFP |