By Sunday Ani
In what appears a proactive move to stem the rising tide of domestic and sexual violence against women, particularly teenage girls and young ladies, a nongovernmental social impact organisation, Girls Inspired Development Network (GIDN), in collaboration with the International Centre of Martial Arts for Youth Development and Engagement, and the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA), decided to take the bull by the horns, as it equipped over 100 secondary school girls with taekwondo and other martial arts defensive and fighting skills in Lagos recently.
The eight-week training, which will end on August 14, was at the behest of Girls Inspired and its sister organisation, I-Safe, under the auspices of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The training being held at the Bola Ige Millennium Senior Secondary School, inside the Tolu Schools Complex, Ajegunle, in Ajeromi/Ifelodun Local Government Area of Lagos State, is aimed at promoting girls’ overall mental health and physical skills to navigate through challenging situations and protect themselves effectively.
This was corroborated by the programmes manager, Safety, Livelihood and Gender, under I-Safe, an offshoot of Girls Inspired, Patricia Njoku, who decried the alarming rate of vulnerability of girls to sexual abuse, molestation and rape in the country.
She noted that the training would enhance the self-confidence, discipline, and focus of the girls when they find themselves in such ugly and helpless situations as rape and kidnap cases: “Girls are helpless in many circumstances, and we are passionate about women and girls’ safety; that is part of our programmes under our I-Safe Initiative. There have been reports of increasing cases of rape, sexual abuse, molestation and attack on girls, kidnapping and trafficking. The development is becoming worrisome, and the girls most often don’t know how to help themselves in such situations. That is why this training is very timely and necessary.”
She, however, stressed that, much as the organisation was passionate about equipping the girls with self-defence skills, they were not being trained to go and fight or look for trouble but to be able to escape in such vulnerable situations.
“We have told them that the best form of defence is escape. Once you have a way of escape, do that at once, but where such an opportunity is not available, see how you can apply any of the self-defence skills to free yourself before escaping. This is just to equip the girls and promote their confidence, because we need brave, resilient and confident girls,” she added.
According to Njoku, the programme was initially designed to train 100 girls between the ages of nine and 17, but when the number of girls that showed interest soared, the organisation adjusted its budget and accommodated five more girls, bringing the total number of participants in the training to 105.
“Some girls are still begging to be accommodated. They are passionate about acquiring the skills because they are tired of the situation they are passing through in the hands of men,” she said.
On the mode of selection of the girls, she said: “We went through the Ministry of Education, under District 5, which comprises Ajeromi, Badagry, Ojo and Amuwo Odofin local government areas. The education district recommended that we pick the girls from the schools in the Tolu schools complex because of the proximity of the schools, so that the girls could trek to the central location.
“They gave us the approval after reviewing the purpose of the training. Currently, we have 105 girls selected from 16 schools – eight junior secondary schools and eight senior secondary schools.”
She expressed hope that the programme would continue to have great impacts on other girls who did not partake in the programme as the beneficiaries would continue to train other girls as ambassadors of the project initiators.
“We are so happy with what is happening. Our goal is to make the girls ambassadors in their various schools after the training. I-Safe will be visiting the schools at intervals to encourage the ambassadors to train other girls. The ambassadors will take the lead based on what they have learnt.
“We will continue to monitor what they are doing long after this training; that way, we will continue to ensure that our girls are safe and free from harassment, abuse and sundry ills and pains, which men often inflict on female youngsters.”
According to the instructor, Grace Egana, the girls were being equipped with the basics of martial arts to defend themselves using the 360 degrees block from their faces to their sides and lower parts, their private parts.
“I am also teaching them about kicks; the easy kicks to execute to defend themselves from any attack. There is not much ceremony about that, just the normal layman’s kick, which is the straight or knee kick. Anybody can apply it but they are being taught the proper way to use it,” she said.
She noted that the girls were equally learning how to disentangle themselves from grips, which happens often on the street when they are walking alone. “They can remove their arms from such grips without much struggle. I have also taught them how to release themselves from chokes, in case they find themselves in a tight corner. You know you can’t stop them from going to certain places, so in case they find themselves in such situations, they can release themselves from the side chokes, especially during rape cases. That is where we are now but we are still expecting to pass more knowledge to them before August 14, when the training would end,” she added.
She commended the girls, saying: “I feel inspired and privileged teaching them. I am really happy that I can coach them and they are learning very fast. And I am happy seeing them being able to defend themselves now and in the future. I am confident that, when they are out there, they will be able to defend themselves from danger.
“What we are doing here is taekwondo with krav maga, an Israeli self-defense, which is purely a street game. When I say street game, I mean that it is not a competition, but a street game. Taekwondo is the competition part but we are adding the self-defence part of taekwondo mixed with the Israeli self-defence called krav maga.”
The Lagos State DSVA donated copies My Passport of Rights booklet, to help provide valuable knowledge about their rights as well as serve as a tool to combat child abuse, domestic violence, and sexual violence. “Through this collective endeavour, the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, together with other partners, remains dedicated to fostering a safe and secure environment for everyone, particularly young girls, to thrive and lead empowered lives.”
Participants, who shared their training experiences with Daily Sun included 16-year-old Ibe Blessing, from Ojora Memorial Senior Secondary School; 15-year-old Okenyi Onumsinachi, Mokoya Senior High School; 16-year-old Omonigo Victory, Bola Ige Millennium Senior Secondary School; and Kareem Joy Ayomide, 17, also from Bola Ige Millennium Secondary School.
They all agreed that the training had been interesting and helpful. They were all happy learning how to defend themselves in any situation that is life-threatening.
“We have learnt fighting stances, passing stances, semi-passing stances, cautionary stop, round kick, straight kick and knee kicks, as well as how to be respectful. We have learnt how to defend ourselves and persevere.
“We have also learnt things like the 360 degrees block, how to free your hand from the attacker’s grips, knee kick and horse ride. You can apply a 360 degrees block when the attackers are coming. The up-block is to defend your face; the side block is to defend attacks coming from the side, while the down block is to defend kicks targeted at below your waist. We intend to teach other girls who didn’t have this opportunity. We feel great learning these skills,” they said.