Self-defense training for girl students

BY OUR STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI, May 14: Uble to contain the growing incidences of crime against the fairer sex, Dispur has now rolled out a programme to impart training in self defense to girl students. The State level Advisory Committee (SLAC) for Students and Youth Welfare, which is chaired by the Chief Minister, will conduct training in self defense in 100 locations of the State. The training will be imparted through educatiol institutions involving leading citizens, respectable persons etc. of the area, official sources said today. During the programme, the girl students will be given training in martial arts like karate, judo and tae-kwon-do by qualified trainers. The training programme has already started in Sivasagar district in the month of April. There has been a steady increase in crimes against women in Assam with over 85,000 women falling victim to various crimes, including rape and witch hunting, between 2005 to 2014. Home department statistics show that 68,326 women have been victims of atrocities between 2005 to 2014, with each passing year showing a rising trend. The number of reported cases of atrocities on women was 3,562 in 2005, shooting up to 11,657 in 2014. Similarly, the number of rape victims has gone up from 1,217 in 2005 to 2,047 in 2014, death of rape victims from four in 2005 to 13 in 2014 and death in dowry cases from 99 to 205 during the same period. A slight decline in number of deaths of witch hunting victims has been observed, with the figure coming down to six in 2014 after reaching 31 in 2011 from 13 such victims in 2005. A total of 47,298 people were arrested for involvement in these crimes against women between 2005 to 2014, of which charge-sheet has been submitted against 44,877 accused. Out the charge-sheeted, the court has passed its judgment on 1,385 accused. During 2005-2014, 26,464 women had been kidpped and 13,568 kidppers were apprehended in the period.