Sangeeta Yadav speaks to women of grit who have carved out a niche for themselves in male-dominated professions
‘I never gave up’
She is India’s only woman commando trainer who holds a 7th-degree black belt in military martial arts. She is a combat shooting instructor, a firefighter, Professional Association of Diving Instructors in scuba diving and Himalayan Mountaineering Institute medalist in rock climbing. If this was not enough to add to her kitty, she was Mrs India World pageant finalist as well! She is also one of the 10 women in the world certified in Jeet Kune Do, a unique martial art form created by Bruce lee in the 1960s.
Meet 48-year-old Seema Rao who has been practising martial arts since the age of 12. A daughter of freedom fighter, Prof Ramakant Sinari, who helped in the liberation of Goa from the Portuguese, Seema grew up listening to stories of India’s struggle for independence and always wanted to serve her country.
“I was a very weak child and used to get bullied by the seniors when I was studying in Mount Carmel High School in Bandra, Mumbai. They used to hit me with a book and snatch away the lunch box. People around me laughed but I wanted to change the attitude children had and become stronger. My father was a freedom fighter in the Goa Freedom struggle against Portuguese and listening to the stories sowed the seeds of patriotism in me. Stories about how my father and his friend escaped from jail, swam across the Mandovi river and reach safety to continue his work for freedom struggle inspired me. I always thought that if life would give me an opportunity, I too would serve the country. My destiny gave me my heart’s desire,” Rao says who is one of winners of Women of Pure Wonder Awards by Vodafone Foundation.
This dream came true when Rao met Major Deepak Rao, a medical student who was a martial artist as well. They fell in love and she got married at the age of 18. “My husband was into martial arts and I understood that this is what will make me strong and I wanted to be in a position where I could do things on my own. He became my teacher,” Rao says and recounts an incident that occurred on Chowpatty one day with the rag pickers who passed some lewd remarks when she was training with her husband.
“On our way back, we saw the boys at a distance and my husband said: ‘Those are the guys and it is your fight’. Saying this, he moved away. When I walked past them, they started whistling and one of the guys came in front of me and blocked my way. I looked at his face and slapped him. He got angry and attacked me. This time I tackled him with my leg. That’s when I realised that martial arts is necessary for every women. I was no longer weak,” Rao tells you.
From there, she went on to learn boxing, wrestling, Bruce lee’s art Jeet Kune Do, shooting, etc. Soon she started getting invites to train people.
“I never wanted to be a commando trainer but it just happened. I started training commandos in Close Quarter Battle art and reflex shooting method,” Rao says.
In 1996, the husband and wife were approached by the Service Chiefs of Army, Navy, BSF & NSG who wanted to introduce their training programmes to the jawans. This meant that for the next eight months in a year, Rao would to travel in remote locations to give training. She never asked for any payment in return.
She was working in a male-dominated environment and Rao could sense bias because she was a woman. “Some were reluctant to learn from me because I am a woman. But I believed in myself and live by giving personal example. For instance, if any task needed to be done, I would do first. Having to prove myself was something that I had to do time and again. I felt that was how I would have an upper hand with the men trainees,” she says.
And then there were financial hardships as well since the couple would train others for free. “We were broke and I had to sell my jewellery to meet our expenses. But that didn’t deter us. We also consciously decided not to have a child as most of the time my husband and I were away training at far off places. Having a child would have meant to take a break of five years which I couldn’t afford to do. My husband supported me,” Rao tells you, who later adopted a girl.
It was when she met with vertebral fracture and a severe head injury that made her rethink her choice of a career. “I fell on my head and had memory loss for some time. I also had severe back injuries that kept me bed ridden for four months. That was the first time when I thought of quitting. But I knew that martial arts was my life. There was no way I could give it up. I recovered and took easy. I got wiser and do things cautiously now,” Rao says.
She has co-authored many books with her husband like Encyclopedia of Close Combat Ops, A Comprehensive Analysis of World Terrorism and Commando Manual of Unarmed Combat which are available at libraries of FBI, INTERPOl, UN, and SWAT Police the world over. She has also produced and acted in a film titled Hathapayi directed by her husband which revolves around a woman and talks about Jeet Kune Do for the first time in a movie.
Her journey may have been fraught with difficulties but she says it has been worth it. She has also received the World Peace Award in Malaysia and the US President’s Volunteer Service Award. In 2011, her husband received the President of India’s Rank Award for his 20 years of contribution to the Indian Army.
The couple have designed a programme Defence Against Rape and Eve Teasing (DARE) for women to help them deal with harassment, molestation, sexual assault, and rape.
“The programme equips women with not just being able to defend themselves but also teaches them how to stop the situation from getting worse. To protect yourself and not be dependent on somebody is what empowers a woman. Women need to drop the conditioning that says men are superior to them. Women today are doing better than men. If you hit an obstacle, don’t think it is the end of the world. A woman has to fight her battles. Understand the obstacle and address it, it will make you stronger. If you are getting better each day, to tackle your problems, you are on the right path,” Rao says.