Self Arming

Each year around the world millions of women are harassed, teased and raped. Most of the time the assailant overpower them and do what they intend to do. The criminal justice system no matter which country we are talking about is too complex and too tedious that victims lose the hope of finding any relief whatsoever.

In the context of Pakistan, in a survey conducted by DAWN a leading morning daily reported there are 58.1% incidents of sexual or mental harassment related to women in the workplace. Pakistan has fared quite badly in the Gender Gap Index report of 2018, finishing third-last at 151 out of 154 countries.

As the world system of government is changing and governments are shrinking where there only work is now to make and enact the laws. With a burgeoning population, it is getting hard to protect every woman at the workplace or in a domestic setup. The solution is to arm women and girls especially those who are vulnerable to toxic circumstances with self-defense and self-help.

The idea is to provide school girls and university girls with mandatory self-defense classes that span over 3–6 months every semester or academic year. these training will be accessed based on participation and learning outcomes. This will not only make them confident but independent, not relying on male members of the family for protection. This will also enhance their productivity and effectiveness at the workplace and in a social setup.

As far as the concern is who is going to help conduct these exercises or from where funding will be generated, several NGOs and International organizations including Multinational companies are willing and already contributing toward women empowerment. The government will act as a regulator and Universities as a medium.

In the end, it can be said with certainty that although women are vulnerable sections of society yet it is in their hands to either become independent and self-reliant or dependent and victim.