Roshni studies in 7th standard in a government school. One day, walking home from school, Roshni finds that she is being followed by two boys on a bike. Her pace quickens but the boys catch up and start to pull at her clothes. This is a fairly common occurrence in India. Stats show that 1 in 3 girls in India are eve-teased or subject to assault.

Roshni however is not part of that statistic. As the boys start to harass her, she stares right back at them bringing out her ‘dangerous self'. She screams a loud “NO” to deter them. When they don’t stop, she takes a swing at one with her bag and throws a full-force punch to another’s nose. They go off balance and fall. Stunned at the response and hurt, while a crowd gathers to help finish the lesson that was being taught to the boys, Roshni takes down the number of the bike and marches to the local police station to file a complaint. She knows that sexual harassment is a crime under section 354A of the Indian Penal Code and the Police must take action. A dispersing crowd cheers her on.

Roshni is one of the 1500 girls that MukkaMaar trains to feel confident and empowered. MukkaMaar works to build inner power in adolescent girls with a strong belief that if the perception of being weak and helpless is removed, something deeper is ignited in girls. We work in partnership with government schools, and every girl in 6, 7th and 8th standard is trained in physical and non-physical activities. We use fitness, physical and verbal self defence, identification of types of violence, boundary setting, assertiveness training, negotiation, forum theatre and much more.