Women begin sit-in at Prayagraj park: If Delhi women can sit in cold, why can’t we?

Meanwhile, police said that they are urging the protesters to call off their dharna. “A group of women have gathered at the park. Senior police officers are at the spot. They are talking to women. They are protesting against the CAA, NRC," said SSP (Prayagraj) Satyarth Aniruddha Pankaj.

Citizenship Amendment Act, CAA protests, CAA protests UP, CAA protests Delhi, prayagraj caa protests, shaheen bagh women protests, India news, Indian Express

Protesters at Mansoor Ali Park on Sunday. (Express Photo)

Emulating the ongoing protest at Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh, a group of women began a sit-in against the new citizenship law (CAA) and proposed NRC at Prayagraj’s Mansoor Ali Park on Sunday afternoon.

“We are against this unconstitutional (citizenship) law and the NRC. We, mostly the women, are sitting here as Indians. There are people from all age groups and religions here. We will make this sit-in like the one at Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh. If women of Delhi can sit outside in the cold, why can’t we? We will sit here for 24 hours and continue our protest in the coming days. It will not stop,” said 26-year-old Sara Ahmed, who works at a private firm and is one of the organisers of the protest.

“I feel it is the women who suffer the most and, therefore, we will lead from the front in the fight for the rights of people,” she added.

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Nineteen-year-old Laiba Shamim, who is preparing for NEET, said people of all age groups are part of the protest. “Anyone who visits this protest can see that people ranging from five to 70 years old are here. Most are women and children. We are against CAA-NRC and are going to make our voices heard,” Shamim said.

Another protester, 62-year-old Gayatri Ganguly (62), said, “I am here to show my solidarity with the protest. I will sit here all night because if these women can, so can I.”

A mother of teenage children, 40-year-old Tarannum Khan, said that the protest is for the rights of people. “We are here for our rights. There are people from all communities here. It is not about religion but about our Constitution,” said Khan, who has two children aged 14 and 16 years.

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Meanwhile, police said that they are urging the protesters to call off their dharna. “A group of women have gathered at the park. Senior police officers are at the spot. They are talking to women. They are protesting against the CAA, NRC. We don’t know about their plan, but we are holding talks with them. We are telling them that people in the city have already protested. We told them that it is pointless to sit in the cold. Things are under control and we are keeping a watch,” said SSP (Prayagraj) Satyarth Aniruddha Pankaj.

Asad Rehman

Asad Rehman is with the national bureau of The Indian Express and covers politics and policy focusing on religious minorities in India. A journalist for over eight years, Rehman moved to this role after covering Uttar Pradesh for five years for The Indian Express. During his time in Uttar Pradesh, he covered politics, crime, health, and human rights among other issues. He did extensive ground reports and covered the protests against the new citizenship law during which many were killed in the state. During the Covid pandemic, he did extensive ground reporting on the migration of workers from the metropolitan cities to villages in Uttar Pradesh. He has also covered some landmark litigations, including the Babri Masjid-Ram temple case and the ongoing Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute. Prior to that, he worked on The Indian Express national desk for three years where he was a copy editor. Rehman studied at La Martiniere, Lucknow and then went on to do a bachelor's degree in History from Ramjas College, Delhi University. He also has a Masters degree from the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia. ... Read More

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