Police in Nepal have started self-defense lessons for women and girls in camps for people displaced by massive earthquakes earlier this year after concerns about a number of sexual assaults and an increase in reports of sexual harassment.
More than 8,700 people died in the two major earthquakes that hit Nepal on April 25 and May 12, destroying nearly half a million houses and leaving thousands camping out in the open.
“While visiting different camps in Kathmandu, we realized the need for such training so that women can protect themselves,” Nepal Police Deputy Superintendent Tara Thapa said. “Women and children are more vulnerable to sexual violence in this situation. The culprits are looking to take benefits of the situation.”
Photo: EPA
The courses started last week.
“We are teaching them several techniques, including how to kick and punch, as well as various locks. There are some lessons of judo and karate, too,” Thapa said. “Even a weak woman can fight against a strong man. This will help them to save themselves.”
Bipana Tamang, 24, was one of dozens of women who had gathered at the Boudhanath monastery in Kathmandu for training. From the Nuwakot District near Kathmandu, she has been living outside since the earthquake and runs a small restaurant.
“I have faced many cases of harassment while dealing with the customers. These techniques will help me to tackle such problems,” she said. “This is the third day and I have learned how to punch and to kick. Now, I am confident I can fight to save myself.”
Kathmandu metropolitan police spokesman Narayan Singh Khadka said the initiative had been launched after several cases of harassment and “drunk people entering camps.”
“We are receiving overwhelming response from the people” he said.
The police are planning to expand the sessions to several other camps in Kathmandu.
Widespread unemployment, poverty and the impact of a 10-year Maoist insurgency have made Nepali women and children vulnerable to trafficking networks, and campaigners say that the recent disaster has increased the threat.
Police and security agencies have increased vigilance against trafficking in earthquake-hit areas and along the Nepal-India border.
The government recently imposed a three-month ban on adoption and made it mandatory for traveling youngsters to carry permission letters if they are not accompanied by parents.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was