Inside India's First All-Female Commando Unit

Brut India

With crime against women on the rise, they needed a drastic solution. Meet Assam’s Veerangana: a highly trained, all-female squad who are patrolling the streets to make a difference.

Transcript

00:00Meet the Virangana, India's first all-female commando unit.

00:12Look at this guy, unnecessarily trying to create a girl's outfit as if these girls

00:18would be able to make a difference.

00:20They are Assam's first line of defense against eve-teasing and harassment.

00:24Some enlisting in the face of great personal sacrifice.

00:54The Virangana are commandos who are specially trained to tackle offenses against women.

01:20They have distinctive black and purple uniforms and patrol the streets of Guwahati to help

01:24maintain the peace.

01:26Assam's rate of crime against women was three times the national average in 2019.

01:31Out of every one lakh Assamese women, at least 177 had faced some kind of attack that year,

01:37according to India's official crime data.

01:39The Virangana are hoping to lower that number.

01:45Their training takes place at a remote camp in the hills outside of Guwahati.

01:50Brute journalist Neeti Upadhyay was given special access to see exactly what these

01:59female commandos go through to prepare for duty.

02:19When I was in the public, I would wake up at six in the morning.

02:24After training, everyone would wake up at six in the morning.

02:32I'm going to brush my teeth.

02:34Arrghh!

02:36I don't have time.

02:38One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.

02:45If they see me in a black uniform, they'll think I'm crazy.

02:51One, two, three.

02:59In 2012, the Virangana was formed out of necessity.

03:04Crime was on the rise, and it was going to take something drastic to make a difference.

03:13Some police personnel were sceptical.

03:15I mean, look at this guy.

03:17Unnecessarily trying to create a girl's outfit as if these girls would be able to make a difference.

03:23Billiard ready?

03:29That kind of scepticism used to be galore.

03:33I won't say it's not there anymore.

03:35It is there, but then Virangana is respected now.

03:37They have earned it by way of discharging very high-quality duty.

03:43The Virangana battalion only accepts around 50 new recruits every year.

03:49In advanced training, the women learn how to handle weapons in sensitive situations,

03:57maintain control during a domestic riot,

04:01and execute hand-to-hand combat.

04:05Right.

04:07Hit.

04:09Virangana is a very demanding training.

04:11It is very motivating.

04:13I can handle it.

04:15I can handle it.

04:17I can handle it.

04:19But I can't work with a few trainees.

04:21So I put pressure on them to work harder.

04:25Hit.

04:27Hit.

04:29Hit.

04:31It is very difficult for me.

04:33When I work, I have to run.

04:35When I run, I feel like I have to run.

04:37I feel like I have to run.

04:39I feel like I have to run.

04:41I feel like I have to run.

04:43There are a lot of people like me who work very hard.

04:45If it was possible, I wouldn't have given up.

04:47Very good.

04:49Very good.

04:51Very good.

04:53Very good.

04:55Very good.

04:57Hit.

04:59Very good.

05:01Very good.

05:03Very good.

05:05Hit.

05:07Hit.

05:09The Virangana unit's specialty,

05:11the silent rite.

05:13A complex, memorized routine,

05:15only performed by the U.S. Marines.

05:19The silent rite is a very difficult skill.

05:23You have to show the rise-up.

05:26While the end result looks effortless,

05:28the rigorous training does not come without risks.

05:31Many of the girls have suffered injuries on the job.

05:56Yes, sir, we have to do this.

05:58It's fun.

06:14In the field, the recruits have to be tough.

06:17So downtime in the barracks is when the girls can let loose.

06:20With only a few days off a year,

06:22this is their home away from home.

06:25I love you.

06:27I love you.

06:31In the barrack life,

06:33the girls have to deal with

06:35all kinds of problems.

06:37Language problems,

06:39food problems,

06:41and so on.

06:43All these problems

06:45have to be addressed

06:47as a family.

06:49We have to live together

06:51as a family.

06:55I love you.

06:57I love you.

07:01In the third episode,

07:03we had to dance.

07:05We had to decide

07:07which side to put the mic on

07:09and which side to put the box.

07:11We had to choose which side to put the box on.

07:13It was a difficult time.

07:15Sometimes, we were late.

07:17Sometimes, we were late.

07:19We had to wear our uniforms.

07:21We had to wear our uniforms.

07:23They helped us in many ways.

07:25We were struggling.

07:27And also the dancers

07:29had to sing and dance

07:31to overcome the difficulties.

07:33That's how we got late.

07:45For some,

07:47the difficult road to becoming a Virangana

07:49began long before training.

07:51Kaberi Kathar wanted to join the Assam Police to help support her struggling family.

07:56But after marrying at 20, her in-laws had other plans.

08:21I was abused by my in-laws.

08:24I told my in-laws that I was beaten up by my in-laws.

08:31They said that I was a rumour.

08:35I had a milk carton with me.

08:39I used that milk carton to get home.

08:44Sanjeevani Shargyari was driven to serve by her own childhood trauma of sexual assault.

08:50I was very sad.

08:53I was very sad.

08:55I had to rest.

08:57I was very tired.

08:59I was very tired.

09:01I had to go to the market.

09:03I was in a bad situation.

09:05I was married.

09:07I was very young.

09:09I didn't believe in any other God.

09:12Kaberi left her marriage but Sanjeevani is still carrying the burden of her assault.

09:16Training with the Virangana has given these women the strength to move forward

09:20and help protect others from a similar fate.

09:23Help! Help! Help!

09:27Move!

09:28I have been abused a lot by the Virangana.

09:31I have been abused a lot by the Virangana.

09:34I have been abused a lot by the Virangana.

09:37Help! Help! Help!

09:40I have been abused a lot by the Virangana.

09:45I am able to face the situation now.

09:50I am able to face the situation now.

09:52I am able to raise my voice now.

10:09After 3 months of Special Training, the Virangana are ready to hit the streets.

10:13Their job is to constantly be on the lookout for anyone harassing women or causing a scene.

10:43The commandos have also been helping to test out a new call response system that's yet to be rolled out across Assam.

11:01This call was part of a dry run.

11:04Once an emergency is recorded, a dispatcher will alert the Virangana to jump into action.

11:14Please sit down.

11:16If you have an accident, do you have a gun?

11:20Which gun do you need?

11:22This one?

11:24Yes.

11:37We like to give people petrol at night.

11:41We don't want anything wrong to happen in the city.

11:50It's unclear if the Virangana will make an impact on the recorded cases of crimes against women throughout Assam.

11:57But anecdotally, they've noticed a difference within Kuwahati.

12:19We're here for training.

12:23Once the training is over, we'll go on duty.

12:29We'll see what happens.

12:33We'll try to help.

12:49For more information, visit www.fema.gov

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