PENN trust initiates Women's Brigade at GNC

Amirtha Varushini S

CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin inaugurated the Udayal Padai, a women's brigade at Guru Nanak College in Velachery on Tuesday. As part of the institute's golden jubilee celebrations of the college, the launch was held and the programme is being integrated in its curriculum. The initiative was taken by the institution after signing an MoU with the PENN (Protection and Empowerment of Naari) trust.

PENN emulates the ideas of Queen Velu Nachiyar of Sivaganga, who founded the Udayal Padai, a women's brigade, in order to recapture her country from the British.

V Sriram Sharma, PENN's Executive Trustee, adopted Udayal Padai's idea and customised it for the modern day. Accordingly, the objective of this brigade is to instill proactive self defence among young women enabling them to counter modern day obstacles.

Elaborating on the brigade's purpose and aspirations, VS Sridhar, Founder and Managing trustee of PENN, stated, "Udayal Padai differs from other self defence programmes in its 360° holistic approach with multiple levels of preventive measures including behavioural, educational and most importantly instilling gender sensitising activities, especially for men".

Additionally, he mentioned bringing the Udaiyal Padai programme across various institutions in Chennai. The organisation works on a proactive approach to prevent sexual violence against women and children through a holistic approach on policy level across various departments.