Shaheen Bagh women brave cold in CAA fight
NEW DELHI: For some, it is a fight to secure their children’s future. For others, it is a struggle for “peace” and protecting the country’s secular and democratic ethos. A group of women, mostly homemakers, at Shaheen Bagh, a non-descript colony home to a sizeable Muslim population in an area of South Delhi, bordering Uttar Pradesh, has been holding a dharna in numbing cold for 17 nights, in protest against the amended citizenship Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The icy winds and falling mercury have failed to shake their resolve to continue the sit-in till the Centre revisits the contentious piece of legislation. Around 100 women, between 18 to 50 years of age, have been holding out for days, demanding rollback of the law. Most of the protesters have been around since the beginning of the protest.
“Our children’s future is at risk. We couldn’t sit at home, pretending everything’s fine. Laws are being framed to divide us in our own country,” said a 50-year-old homemaker, asking not to be named.Most of the protesters are housewives and some of them have been holding on till 3 to 4am. They have divided their household chores among themselves and have also brought food for fellow protesters.
Nagma Fatima (30), who was at the sit-in with her four-year-old daughter, said, “I try to bring food for at least five people sitting alongside me. I want the protesters continue the sit-in for as long as possible. I also want to help the volunteers, who are taking care of the protesters here.”The volunteers have been arranging electric heaters, mattresses, blankets, sanitary napkins and first-aid kits for women braving the chill.
“Twelve of us are taking care of the protesters here. We try to provide everything they need, from sanitary napkins to first-aid kits,” 18-year-old Uzma, a volunteer, said. The area buzzed with songs and the chanting of slogans at the stroke of midnight as Students from various universities, cultural groups and residents from elsewhere in the Capital came to join the protesters with a message of ‘New Year Revolution’.