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Muslim, tribal and dalit women demand a sub-quota within women’s reservation

Coimbatore, December, 2014: Putting an end to saffronization of education and history; justice and rehabilitation of riot victims; enactment of laws to punish acid attack culprits; stopping forceful sterilization of women and immediate stopping of false propaganda of ‘Love Jihad’ are among the eight resolutions passed at the ‘Awakening’, the first national conference of the National Women’s Front.

But the most important resolution passed during the conference held on November 16 was a demand for a sub-quota for Muslims, dalits, tribals and backward class – within the quota for women’s reservation. Successive governments have failed to implement the 33% reservation for women in elected bodies.

“We believe that a mere implementing 33% reservation will not be sufficient as the women belonging to Muslims, dalits and OBCs are the most backward sections, most marginalized among the Indian women. We want a sub-quota within the women’s reservation because we feel that most of the places/posts would be occupied by women from the upper caste (and) there won’t be anybody to represent the Muslims, dalits and tribals,” Fareeda Hasan, general secretary of the National Women’s Front, told TwoCircles.net.

“The reservation should be designed in such a way that women belonging to all sections especially the marginalized ones, receive due representation. The conference demands the central government to present the women’s reservation bill in the upcoming winter session and introduce a sub-quota within the reservation for these women,” the resolution said.

The conference also demanded repeal of draconian laws such as AFSPA and closure of Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant and withdrawal of cases against the activists in the cases related to the anti-plant struggle (the last two resolutions). The gathering of Indian women saw women representatives from Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Goa and Rajasthan, a release from NWF said.

The Conference was presided over by NWF national president Shahida Aslam, who also inaugurated the event. Calling it as a “major mile stone” for women activism in India, Aslam urged the women to realize their potential and strive towards establishing equality, justice and peace in the country.

The key note speech was delivered by NWF national vice president Fatima Alima, who highlighted various issues faced by women in India and the need to immediately search a solution for these grave problems. It was followed by guest speeches by Mohammed Ali Jinnah, national secretary, Popular Front of India; Kavitha, a social activist from Kerala; Prof Nazni Begum, vice president, SDPI; AS Ismail, state president, Popular Front Tamil Nadu and Dahlan Baqavi, state president SDPI.

Video messages from prominent activists such as Kavitha Krishnan, secretary, All India Progressive Women’s Association, Delhi; Prof Nandini Sundar, Delhi School of Economics, New Delhi and Prof Safia Amir, Hamdard University, Delhi were played out afterwards.

NWF national committee member Asiya Maryam and the general secretaries of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu announced the conference resolutions, which were passed unanimously, the release added.

“We plan to submit it (the resolutions) to the Central government,” said Fareeda Hasan.

The detailed resolutions passed at the ‘Awakening’ Conference organized by the National Women’s Front at Hazrat Begum Mahal Maidan, Coimbatore on November 16, 2014 are:

1. Stop saffronization of Education and History
Since the BJP led government has come to power there has been strong efforts by the fascist groups to wipe off India’s multi-cultural history and replace it with a RSS version of Hindutva focused history. The fascist onslaught is not just limited to history but even the education syllabus is being targeted to suit the RSS agenda. Such an attempt to play with the country’s history and influence our future is a very serious threat to the pluralistic and secular values of our country. The conference demands the central government to immediately curb all steps and plans to saffronize the history and syllabus.

2. Justice and rehabilitation to riots victims

Our country has witnessed numerous riots against the minorities since independence. The Muslim community has been on the receiving end in most of these riots and Muslim women have always been the prime target. During the Gujarat riots in 2002, Muslim women were subjected to the most heinous crimes which have continued even in recent riots such as those at Muzzaffarnagar. It is indeed unfortunate that the country has failed to condemn these crimes against Muslim women. The culprits of these riots are still roaming freely which has only encouraged them to carry out such crimes. The conference demands the state and central governments to review all cases of communal riots since independence and ensure justice and rehabilitation to the victims of these riots.

3. Sub quota for Muslims, dalits, tribals and backward classes in women reservation.
The Political reservation for women is being discussed since a very long time but successive governments have failed to implement it. The 33% reservation for women in elected bodies will indeed be the first step towards solving the problem of under-representation in our country’s political system. We believe that a mere implementing 33% reservation will not be sufficient as the women belonging to Muslims, dalits and OBCs are the most backward sections among the Indian women. The reservation should be designed in a way that women belonging to all sections especially the marginalized sections receive due representation. The conference demands the central government to present the women’s reservation bill in the upcoming winter session and introduce a sub-quota within the reservation for women belonging to Muslims, Dalits, Tribals and OBCs.

4. Enacts law to punish acid attack culprits and protect victims
Acid attack has become one of the most common types of physical attack on Indian women. The recent years have seen a steep rise in such cases. As per reports there has been 800 acid attack cases registered from 2007 to 2013. India accounts for 10% of the total acid attack cases in the world. Even after the rise in the cases of acid attack we can see acids being easily available and accessible in the market. There can be no doubt that the victims of acid attacks have to undergo physical and psychological pain which has an impact on the victims for their entire life. The conference demands the central government to enact strict laws to end this inhumane crime and curb the availability of dangerous acids. We also demand the government to introduce relief and rehabilitation for the victims of acids attacks.

5. Stop forceful sterilization and punish the government authorities involved.

The recent incident of deaths due to sterilization in Chattisgarh has brought before the country the dark agenda of forceful sterilization. As per the reports it is clear that there was the pressure from the Chhattisgarh state government on the health authorities to carry out extensive sterilization campaigns. This is indeed a serious violation of women rights and reminds us of the Emergency era. The conference demands the central government to punish the government officials involved in this incident. We also demand the government to ensure that such forceful policies of sterilization is not enacted by any state governments in future.

6. Repeal draconian laws
In a democratic country there is no place for anti-people draconian laws. Such laws are a violation of the democratic and judicial rights of a citizen. It is unfortunate that in our country we see laws like UAPA and AFSPA being used against our own people. Such draconian laws are mostly used against marginalized sections such as the tribals, dalits and Muslims. There have been numerous cases of misuse of these laws. It can be noticed that there is a strong lobby inside the government and armed forces backed by the MNC corporates who have blocked all attempts to repeal these laws. We strongly believe that such laws will only act as a tool to oppress and silence the voices against injustice. The conference demands the central government to immediately repeal laws like UAPA and AFSPA and ensure that no such laws are framed in future.

7. Love Jihad is a false propaganda and must be stopped immediately
Love jihad is a new agenda coined by Sangh parivar based on concocted stories and rumors. This agenda was used by the BJP for political benefits in places which had assembly elections scheduled. The fascist groups have always used various issues to divide the Indian society on communal lines and Love jihad is one of such false propaganda. In 2009 the Karnataka police had openly declared that Love Jihad is non-existent. This false propaganda has already caused much mistrust between the two communities and created an atmosphere of suspicion in the country. Such a situation is very dangerous for the Indian society. The conference demands that all the state governments and also the central government should intervene in this issue and punish the groups who are propagating this false propaganda.

8. Close down Koodankulam nuclear power plant and withdraw cases against activists

Nuclear plants are one of the most dangerous man made threats. There have been many major accident incidents around the world caused by nuclear plants. There is a steady decrease in nuclear plants in countries such as US and France. Unfortunately India is the new selling market for world uranium. Australia accounts for 23% of world uranium deposits but it doesn’t have a nuclear plant. The state and central governments have backed nuclear plants due to the pressure from international energy MNCs. Even the most developed countries have failed to manage the nuclear waste generated from these plants. We have also seen diseases such as cancer spreading due to radiation. The conference demands the central and state governments to close down the Koodankulum plant. We also demand the Tamil Nadu state government to withdraw all the cases against the anti-nuclear plant activists. We urge the central government to scrap all future projects of nuclear plants in the country.

- tcn