National

150 women get arms-training along LoC

RAJOURI (LINE OF CONTROL): As the temperatures reach their peak and infiltration attempts increase, a total of 150 local women have been trained in arms along the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, which adjoins Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).

“Learning the use of weapons gives us a sense of security. Women of this village can use weapons and the word has spread around. Militants are deterred from coming here,” says Neetu, a resident of Sarya village of the district. Minimum age for arms training is 18 and even aged women have learnt the use of weapons as part of self-defence mechanism.

Chowdhary Hamid says, “Security forces cannot guard every house in this difficult terrain and one must understand the ground reality. We have a large ex-servicemen population in our area and therefore have licensed rifles. We want our women to learn the craft.”

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