Noida administration makes women trainers mandatory in gyms, pools: Report

To ensure women's safety, Noida administration has made it mandatory for all gyms, yoga centers, and swimming pools to employ female trainers.

In a bid to make gyms more accessible and safe for women, the Noida administration has made it mandatory for all the gyms to have women trainers, reported Times of India.

Gym trainers in Noida will also need to carry Aadhaar Cards for identification under the new directions(Representational)

The same obligation goes for all the swimming pools and yoga centres too, the report added.

The move comes after the Uttar Pradesh State Women Commission issued safety proposals in November 2024, which included employing female staff at boutiques to take measurements of women and installing CCTVs at salons, gyms and any other establishment where women have to interact with male staff and vice versa for surveillance.

However, the order issued by the Noida administration only covers gyms, yoga centres and swimming pools, according to the report. It also mentions that the order was passed on January 5, 2025 and requires the concerned establishments to make necessary hirings within two days.

The order also makes it compulsory for gyms and other concerned establishments to have their trainers carry Aadhaar cards to ensure identification and install CCTVs and digital video recorders for surveillance.

UP women panel’s suggestions

In November 2024, UP’s women panel issued some guidelines and proposals to ensure women’s safety in public spaces and make such spaces more accessible for them. The proposals included not letting men take measurements of women in boutiques or tailor shops, not letting them cut women’s hair without their consent and not letting them train women in gyms.

The steps were taken to save women from “bad touch” of male employees at such places. "There have been increasing complaints of 'bad touch' by male trainers in gyms and in women's boutiques where tailors who take measurements are mostly male," Babita Chauhan, chairperson of the UP women's body, had told PTI.

Talking about how women need to be safe at places accessible to everyone, especially at gyms, she said, “For women who go to the gym, my only request is that the gym owner should keep a trainer, but there should be a female trainer too.”

The suggestions also included having either a female teacher or security guard in school buses.