About 10 days after Madhya Pradesh Assembly passed the historic bill awarding death penalty to those found guilty of raping girls aged 12 or below, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday, December 14, announced that school and college girls in the state will be trained in martial arts so that they can defend themselves.
Chouhan was speaking at an event organised by women groups to felicitate him for passing the historic bill in the state assembly, The Indian Express reported. According to another report, the chief minister made it mandatory for all school buses carrying female students to deploy a female conductor. He also directed the school bus operators to install CCTV cameras in the buses.
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Chouhan said that the government would form special task forces that will keep an eye on the ‘anti-social elements’. He also announced that the groups or individuals who show exemplary bravery and courage in protecting women will be felicitated with the Rajmata Padmavati Award on International Women’s Day, which is observed on March 8 every year.
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Apart from this, he called on the party workers to start a signature campaign in every city in favour of the law awarding capital punishment so that the bill could get the President’s assent.
