The Maharashtra government is considering to make training in self-defence a part of the school curriculum in the state. Maharashtra Education Minister Vinod Tawde gave this assurance in response to an online petition filed by a woman self-defence coach from Pune, Neha Shrimal.

In the petition posted on Change.org in September last year, Shrimal, a mother of seven-year-old girl, had demanded making self-defence training compulsory for all the schools in the state. The petition received over 1.38 lakh signatures in support of the demand. In the petition, Shrimal gave an example of how an 18-year-old girl fought off three men harassing her and handed them over to police in Birbhum in West Bengal. "This brave student shows us that girls can be empowered to face such situations with confidence, rather than feeling scared, victimised and helpless.