Women have always been considered as the weaker ones, constantly labelled in society as the fragile, vulnerable, and defenseless. They have grown to live in fear for themselves, given the dire state of things in today’s savage world. In such testing times, it has become essential to not only know how to fend for oneself, but more importantly, how to defend oneself against all odds and in all situations.

With that in mind, AIUB arranged a workshop on ‘Self-Defense for Women’. Together with the YES Foundation, as part of a project of the Embassy of the United States of America, and the AIUB Social Welfare Club, ‘Shomoy’, the workshop was organized to raise awareness and provide some basic training and guidelines for the female students on self-defense. On the 3^rd of June 2016, the representatives of YES Foundation and 11 trainers from the Bangladesh International Taekwon-Do Federation facilitated the workshop for over 50 female student participants. The workshop discussed the fundamentals of self-defense, various points and methods of attacks, and taught some preventive maneuvers and aggressive tactics for defending oneself from attacks.

The guests were thanked wholeheartedly for their efforts in taking up such a significant initiative and presented with some tokens of appreciation by the honorable Pro-Vice Chancellor, Dr. Charles C. Villanueva. After wrapping up with some final words of encouragement and empowerment, the session came to a close, with many girls now better prepared and equipped to be truly independent in protecting their own selves. In light of the growing security concerns in the city and elsewhere in the world, such initiatives are definitely to be encouraged and AIUB intends to see to it that it is not just preached but also practiced in the long run.