President Pratibha Patil on Saturday asserted that girls should be taught judo and karate and imparted physical training as a necessary step for woman empowerment.
After inaugurating the Girl Child Development Scheme of the Bihar government aimed at empowering women in Patna on Saturday, President Pratibha Patil, the first woman president of the country, said that women's empowerment was possible only once they become stronger.
"A move should be initiated to teach judo and karate to girls," Patil said in her address at the inauguration function of the Mukhiya Mantri Kanya Vivah Yojana during the second day of her two-day visit to Bihar.
She was supported by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who said that he also was in favour of imparting physical training to the girls so that they could counter eve-teasers.
Patil said government policies and programmes should be women-centric as no country could grow without paying attention to half of its population.
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