While giving free self defense classes to women may seem like a great idea on the surface, in this case, there may be more to it than meets the eye.

With so many global events in the news recently, Poland has managed to slip under the radar. However, they attracted attention from across the globe when they announced that they would be giving free self-defense classes to their women.

The Polish Defense Ministry announced that they will be giving these classes from November 19th to sometime in June. It will be open to all women who are 18 or older, as long as they are in good health.

This training will be taking place in thirty different military facilities throughout Poland with Polish army instructors teaching the classes.

Women will be taught how to defend themselves against assaults with weapons, kicks, how to escape holds, and various other techniques.

While it may seem like a good idea on the surface, many critics have already accused the Polish army of using these classes as a way to promote their image, going as far as calling it propaganda.

The main reason for this suspicion is not sexism as one might expect it to be. In January 2016, the Polish government seized control of all their media outlets, which caused people to fear that they were trying to enforce complete censorship.

In July, the Polish government did actually conduct a “purge” of Polish journalists and other media outlets. People have become extra critical of the Polish government’s every move.

A journalist based in the city of Krakow told BBC.com that he believed that the police should be running the self-defense classes rather than the military.

Former special arms commander Roman Polko also spoke out against these classes, saying that it was not the army’s job to teach citizens unarmed combat.

However, Polish Defense Minister, Antoni Macierewicz, said that the idea behind these classes was merely to teach women “basic fighting techniques” and improve physical fitness. He also described it as a defense against Russian aggression, and a way to promote patriotism.

When this idea was first introduced, it seemed like a great idea, but as people begin to speak out, there seems to be more to it than just teaching women how to defend themselves.

At the moment, the only information available is from the Polish Ministry of Defense. The Polish government has not released much information about this topic.

In the end, the truth of this matter, whether propaganda from the government or a way to make women more capable of defending themselves, remains to be seen.