Lucknow, Aug 22 (IANS): The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to conduct a workshop for about 10,000 girls in September to empower girls and impart self-defence skills.

This will be held under its flagship women empowerment programme -- Mission Shakti, said a government spokesperson.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath's ambitious Mission Shakti aims to ensure safety, dignity and self-reliance for women from all sections of society.

The seven-day workshop module for self-defence training will be designed by the Sports and Fitness Sector Skill Council and conducted across 75 districts of the state, said the spokesperson.

The safety of women is a top priority for the state government. With this self-defence programme, the government seeks to prepare women to protect themselves from any kind of assault or threat.

Mission Director, UP Skill Development Mission (UPSDM), Andra Vamsi, in a statement, said, "This programme will help build girls' confidence and enable them to face any difficult situation. The trainees will be taught ways to tackle perpetrators."

After the training, a self-defence kit will be provided to the participants to help them guard against a criminal assault or any such unforeseen threat.

The UPSDM will bear the cost of the training.

The objective of the workshop is to empower girls and enable them to protect themselves against real-life scenarios such as sexual assaults, kidnapping, molestation, bullying, and other such crimes.