It is probably for the first time in India that women have so prominently become the face of resistance against fascist policies of the government. From Shaheen Bagh to Mumbai Bagh, it is women who have now taken up the charge to oppose the unconstitutional Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Population Register (NPR) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).
On February 14, 15 and 16, women from diverse backgrounds and faiths are set to undertake a yatra to the protest sites in Delhi where thousands of women have been staging a 24×7 agitation to oppose the CAA-NPR-NRC. This MAHILA EKTA YATRA will start at 2 pm on each day and will travel to multiple protest sites.
The yatra joined by Shabnam Hashmi, Suroor Mander, Natasha Badhwar, Syeda Hameed, Saba Dewan among others is going to be undertaken to reaffirm their commitment to a secular and inclusive India and to express solidarity with protestors across Delhi. They will march to reject the discriminatory CAA and the proposal to create a nationwide NRC of India through a NPR. These measures will disproportionately impact the poorest and vulnerable groups, including migrant labour, homeless, small farmers, adivasis, indigenous communities, muslim community, dalit bahujan masses, women and transgender who often do not possess the necessary documents to prove their citizenship.
Protests against the CAA-NPR-NRC are raging full steam in India. With police brutality on protestors increasing and the threat to protestors from fringe groups becoming more blatant by each passing day, several groups are coming together to raise their voices against the same and push the government to be accountable for its hate politics.
In the anti-CAA-NPR-NRC stir that has been raging for months now, around 25 people have lost their lives and many students, women and others have become victims of police attacks. Several have been jailed under false charges and several still continue to be unjustly detained for protesting.
In Assam, post the NRC exercise, people continue to languish in detention camps without any assurance of being freed or accepted as citizens of India.
The nationwide NRC could repeat the Assam debacle on a scale higher than anyone can predict, leaving out the minorities – including religion and caste minorities, women and socially backward classes could lead to crores facing the same fate as the people in detention camps in Assam.
It is with this view to save the values put forth by the Constitution that the Mahila Ektra Yatra will embark in Delhi to show support to the resilient women who have made it their onus to stand against hate.
If you would like to join the yatra, please call 9810273984 or 8168420984.
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