Dhangadi, October 6

A seven-day self defence training for women and girls began in Dhangadi, Kailali, today.

The training has started at a time when cases of violence against women, including rape and sexual harassment, are on the rise.

Far-west province Chief Minister Trilochan Bhatta inaugurated the training programme. Addressing the inaugural session of the programme, CM Bhatta said that the province government was preparing to launch a campaign to minimise incidents of violence against women.

Noting that violence against women had increased due to evil social practices, Bhatta argued that ending violence against women was not possible without eliminating ill-practices. “The province government will launch a campaign against violence against women with participation of people’s representatives,” he added. National Goju-Ryu Karate Do Association has started the self defence training in the wake of rising incidents of rape and murder of girls in the far-west. The association said that it would teach women and girls martial arts and make them confident. Schoolgirls and housewives are also taking part in the training.

Central General Secretary Prakash Kumar Chand of the National Goju-Ryu Karate Do Association said he wanted participants to have confidence. The training programme began after observing a minute’s silence in memory Nirmala Pant, who was raped and murdered in Kanchanpur. The training aims to produce 200 trainers. The trainers will then organise self-defence camps at each and every local levels in Kailali.