AJAY KUMAR | Gurgaon, December 31, 2012 | 08:52
Pepper sprays have become girls' new defence aide.Angry and scared after the shocking gangrape incident in the Capital, girl students living in Gurgaon have decided to take their security in their own hands.
They have armed themselves with canisters of chilli and pepper spray. The Gurgaon girl students said the feeling of insecurity has increased manifold after reading reports of rape and crime against women.
"We are not carrying these items by choice. We have been forced to keep the pepper cans since we feel insecure in most of the places outside our homes. This seems to be a good defence against such criminals. This idea was given to us by our teachers and it will certainly boost the confidence of all girls and women," Nistha Sharma, a class 12 student of S.D. Adarsh Senior Secondary School, said.
Many of the school students said they were in a state of shock since they first heard about the brutal gang rape, and were now mourning the brave girl's death. "We are fed up with incidents like this and to prevent such heinous crimes, the government should take proper action," Nistha added.
Many female students say they often become victims of eve-teasing while travelling in commercial vehicles or in crowed places. "The miscreants sometimes tease us even while they are going to or returning from schools. We ignore their objectionable actions mostly but the time has now come to go on the offensive to protect ourselves," another class 12 student Shrishti Vats said.
Principal of the school Asha Sharma said they were giving the girl students self-defence classes where they are taught martial arts such as taekwondo and judo. "Though we have been providing security to students in our schools and teaching them martial art, at the same time, it's the government's duty to provide a safe environment for women and girls. The rapist should be prosecuted in fasttrack courts and conviction should come within a month to boost the confidence of the women of the nation who are feeling extremely insecure right now," Sharma said.
The principals of many Gurgaon schools said they were encouraging their girl students to carry a pepper spray canister while travelling around the city. "We introduced this idea in our school but at the same time we have to educate our children in such a manner that they will feel confident even when they are trapped in an adverse situation. We also lay an emphasis on martial arts training. Regular training of martial arts can make you confident, both physically and mentally, to deal with mischief-mongers," S.P. Sharma, the principal of Arya Public school, said.
Delhi Public School (DPS), Sector 45, is also providing training in martial arts to its students. "We have installed CCTV cameras in buses. We also insist that someone be present at the bus stop during boarding and de-boarding so that students don't have to go home alone from the bus stop," DPS principal Aditi Mishra said.
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/gurgaon-girls-chilli-canisters-pepper-spray-eve-teasing-rape-cases/1/240144.html