Hyderabad’s DHEERA self-defence programme is set to expand beyond its latest session of more than 700 girl students, with the Malkajgiri Police Commissionerate planning structured training across its seven subdivisions and participation expected to exceed 5,000 students.
The fourth edition of the programme was organised by the Women’s Safety Wing of the Malkajgiri Police Commissionerate at TGSWR Women’s Degree College and Women’s Law College in Chaitanyapuri. The initiative aims to equip school and college students with practical self-defence and martial arts skills while improving physical fitness and confidence.
Addressing the participants, Malkajgiri Commissioner of Police B. Sumathi said one school from each of the commissionerate’s seven subdivisions would be selected for structured training. The programme is expected to widen participation through schools rather than remain limited to a single event involving students from selected institutions.
The police commissioner said around 270 abuse-related cases had been registered in the commissionerate during the previous seven months. She urged students to remain alert, report safety concerns promptly and seek police assistance by dialling 112 whenever necessary.
The programme is being supported through training material that students can use after the sessions. Physical education teachers prepared video demonstrations of self-defence techniques for students to learn and practise regularly. The police have also planned a later evaluation of participating schools at Saroornagar Indoor Stadium, where trained students will assemble and perform the techniques they have learned.
The school judged to have performed best will receive recognition, according to the commissionerate. The planned evaluation is intended to connect the initial training sessions with continued practice, although the police did not provide details of the evaluation criteria or the schedule for the stadium event.
The initiative forms part of a wider network of women’s and child-safety services identified by the police. These include Bharosa Centres, SHE Teams, CDEW Family Counselling Centres, the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit and Women Police Stations. The services address different forms of safety and support, including assistance to women and children and responses to abuse-related concerns.
DCP, LB Nagar Zone, B. Anuradha encouraged students to make use of the training and practise the techniques regularly. The next stage of the programme will be the selection of schools across the seven subdivisions and the expansion of participation beyond the more than 700 students who attended the latest edition.
