Activists from the All-India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), and Sarv Karamchari Sangh, along with anganwari workers and Accredited Social Health Activists, held protest demonstrations across Haryana on Tuesday to demand regular jobs, respectable wages, and an end to growing oppression, exploitation, and violence.
To show their support for the Prime Minister and Chief Minister’s demands, the protesters convened meetings and delivered memoranda to the district authorities.
Controversial statements
Speaking to a crowd gathered at Rohtak’s Mansarovar Park, AIDWA’s national vice-president Jagmati Sangwan claimed that since the Bharatiya Janata Party took office in 2019, numerous attempts had been made to undermine the women’s sense of pride on the social and political levels. According to her, the “Sulli App” was used to “sell” Muslim women protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act at Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh, and the women from the same religious community were made available for purchase. She argued that authorities only took action in the “Sulli App” case after a public outcry and widespread hostility. She lamented the fact that more than 80 million women working under various government programmes, such as the midday meal, were not even recognised as “labourers” and were not paid the minimum wage.
CITU district vice-president Anita Bhali said that while the country prepared to commemorate its 75th anniversary of independence, the situation for women, particularly working women, was at its worst.
Protesters marched through Karnal, burning effigies of Chief Minister Manohar Lal, as well as the Minister of Women and Child Development Kamlesh Dhanda.
