Patriarchy, Politics, and Violence against Women: Delhi's Self-Defense Program for Girls

eve-teasing 

Since 2002, Delhi’s Special Police Unit for Women and Children’s (SPUWAC) has trained over 125,000 women and girls in a mixture of physical fitness and martial arts techniques that are intended to protect them from assault, harassment, or “eve-teasing” (often known as “catcalling” in the United States). 

On Friday, June 5th, I had the opportunity to attend SPUWAC’s self-defense program finale. The crowded auditorium was filled with female students who had participated in the 15-day self-defense program, along with their teachers and faculty, NGOs, and media.

As this year’s self-defense course culminated, SPUWAC also launched the unit’s very first self-defense manual and training DVD for girls. The manual and video include step-by-step photographs and directions for defense maneuvers that can be used to disable an attacker in cases of harassment and assault.The manual describes what to do if an attacker puts his hands around your throat, grabs you from the back, shoves you, pins you down, or attempts to use a knife. I have to admit, it was hard to watch the self-defense video. I spent a lot of time during the presentation covering my mouth with my dupatta and laughing... 

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t take the video’s recommendations seriously. Many of the situations and maneuvers were dangerously unrealistic for the young, school-aged girls at whom the manual and video were directed. In several instances, the video depicts a woman deftly disarming an attacker and flipping him to the ground. Another example shows a woman using her handbag to choke an auto rickshaw driver if he goes the wrong direction and refuses to turn around.

After screening the video, Delhi’s Police Commissioner Bhim Bassi, took the stage to speak about the self-defense initiative’s success. Bassi congratulated the schoolchildren who had completed the training, and explained why he believed that self-defense was the most effective solution to violence against women in Delhi. 

Bassi started by acknowledging that sexual harassment and rape are problems faced by all nations, regardless of socioeconomics or degree of development. Even if it’s hard to believe, this statement is true: violence against women is a global epidemic without boundaries. The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine’s recent analysis of primary data from 80 countries found that the lifetime prevalence of violence against women is 35%. This means more than 1 in every 3 women across the world experience physical or sexual violence during their lifetime.

However, Bassi’s perspective (and the Delhi police’s position) on violence against women began to unravel from here. Bassi proceeded to say that changing the violent psychological mindset of men is a slow and difficult process. Apologizing to NGOs and activists in the crowd who advocate for gender equality, he said that the Delhi Police cannot waste time trying to shift men’s attitudes towards women. Bassi blamed men’s “natural genetic disposition” their aggressive behavior and violence. "

Delhi Police Commisioner Bhim Bassi

In order to see immediate change, Bassi said, women and girls must work to bridge the natural physical gap between males and females. “Men will not risk assaulting a woman if she is capable of hurting him,” Bassi said, “Men prey on women because they know they won’t face any resistance or injury. He substantiated his theory with anecdotal evidence, saying men don’t harass or assault other men because they fear the consequences.

If women and girls are capable, confident, and empowered to take action, Bassi explained, then men will be too afraid to commit violence and perpetrate harassment. In fact, there is some recent evidence that empowerment self-defense training can successfully prevent rape and sexual assault. In a large scale study at Canadian universities, a 12-hour self-defense program for female students reduced attempted sexual assault by 63%. 

But is it ethical or effective for government institutions to take this approach to preventing violence against women on a societal scale? Share your opinions in the comments! I’ll share my perspective (along with some relevant stats) in a second installment on the blog - coming soon!

Sona Jani

University of Michigan, School of Public Health

sonajani@umich.edu | http://sonajani.blogspot.in/

The Value of Education

Recently I have had the opportunity to teach English classes at one of the many slums in Delhi through Maitrigram. There are two different groups of students that I have been able to work with. The first of these is made up of women ages 22 to 32. This class takes place in the middle of the afternoon during the heat of the day. Their willingness to learn given India’s conditions inspires me (It’s extremely hot in Delhi). These women are completely new to the English language and are now just learning how to write their ABC's. These ladies are incredibly strong willed and visibly motivated to learn English. They give all their attention to whomever is instructing the program. I was able to help them with their writing skills and forming English letters that are so new to them; they picked them up so quickly. My favorite letter that I was able to work on with them was writing “Gg". They had a little trouble writing the capital letter “G”, but once they understood how to write it the lowercase "g" proved to be nothing difficult.

After the first class was finished we took a five minute walk to the main project site where we met with the second batch of students. These are ages 18-25. It is very easy to teach them because we are all around the same age; with this we have developed a friendship too. Many of these students have taken English classes in school for several years, so they are getting closer and closer to fluency with every lesson we teach. We are working mostly with their conversational skills so that they will be able to receive a job or career in a field that they are interested. We have been discussing different topics like movies, sports, and anything that keeps them wanting to converse. We choose common themes for the students because we want them to be knowledgeable when having an everyday conversation. The students inspire me in so many ways, they show up on time to every class. Even though learning a new language is difficult, they are so motivated to learn and they all keep trying to progress so they may further their knowledge.

It is situations and people like this that simply inspire me each and every day. These students show a great appreciation to us and to Maitri India that makes teaching easier. They come to class smiling and willing to learn which is sometimes hard to find in students. It is always such a nice sign to see them trying their hardest to learn because it shows that they care.  

-Brok Dixon 2015