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Some people believe that life skills such as cooking, first aid, swimming and self-defence can be taught only on need to know basis depending upon gender, caste, creed etc, however, I am convinced that vital life skills are requisite for survival for any member of society and we should strive to make it accessible to each one of us.
To begin, life is so unpredictable that we don’t know what may happen next around us, do we know? Thus we should be prepared at all times to handle crisis situations as much as possible, not to mention the crisis does not look at gender, caste, religion and so on, before striking, and hence, it is imperative that all of us should be taught survival skills. For instance, ever since CPR training is incorporated in the annual training calendar of industries, so many lives have been saved till date because employees could employ CPR techniques as first aid to their colleagues, who suffered strokes.
Furthermore, there are many moments in life when you are stuck alone, due to natural or other disasters, if you know essential skills such as cooking, you will be able to follow through in such stringent times. Another such skill, worth mentioning, is swimming, people who know swimming have saved a number of crucial human lives. To illustrate another such example, during the recent lockdown imposed due to the pandemic, when people of all ages, gender, and religion were compelled to stay in their homes, with irregular household supplies and medical facilities, people who knew essential life skills could manage their necessities at ease.
To conclude, I would go up to the extent to say that life survival skills should be made mandatory for everyone, irrespective of gender, caste, religion, just like any other basic hygiene of life is taught.
