'Tejashwini' sees participation from all and sundry

Kolkata: Women from different walks of life, including IT professionals and doctors, showed keen interest in picking up techniques of self-defense, while participating in the five-day-long self defense training programme "Tejashwini".

It was organised by the Kolkata Police Sergeants' Institute at Police Athletic Club ground in Maidan.

As many as 178 women from different walks of life have become part of the training programme that will continue till May 23. It has been learnt that Rajeev Kumar, Commissioner of Police, would be visiting the workshop on the last day.

According to a senior police officer, girls starting from the age of 12 years to 40-year-old women are participating in the workshop. The police officer said that apart from school-goers, housewives and women working in corporate sectors have also attended the workshop. Even doctors, IT professionals and journalists have taken part in the workshop.

"The most interesting part of the free-of-cost training programme is that besides learning the tactics of self-defense, one would also gather knowledge on the legal side of the cases related to harassment of women," the officer said, adding that the participants are learning certain martial art moves and at the same time, there are sessions when they are being taught how to prepare themselves psychologically if they need to protect themselves when someone is harassing them. From Saturday onwards, the workshop will continue for around three hours from 7 am every day. "The participants were so enthusiastic that training got extended till 10.30 am on Sunday," the officer said, adding that the post related to "Tejashwini" recorded the highest number of viewers, among all the posts on the page of Kolkata Police on Facebook so far. It has gone viral and the number viewers have crossed 5 lakh.

It may be mentioned that the concept of self-defense was introduced by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, as it was her brainchild to start the project "sukanya", under which Kolkata Police provides self-defense training to girls from different schools and colleges. Other police commissionerates have also taken up similar projects.