feeds from sacw.net
print version
PRESS RELEASE
14 June 2023
Hundreds of women gathered to hold the first National Mahila Panchayat in Solidarity with the Struggling Wrestlers in Delhi.
THE DEMANDS EMERGING FROM THE PANCHAYAT:
• Immediate Arrest of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
• The resignation of the Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur for his abject failure to take action in these cases of sexual harassment.
• Prosecution of police officials under 166A IPC who failed to register FIRs and comply with the provisions of POCSO, PoSH and IPC.
• A Supreme Court-monitored probe into these cases of struggling wrestlers given the widespread reporting of intimidation of survivors, witnesses and their families.
• Action in all other cases of sportswomen who have been struggling for justice against sexual harassment at the workplace, including against former Haryana Sports Minister Sandeep Singh against whom a sexual harassment case has been pending since 2017.
• The new President of the Wrestler’s Foundation of India be a Woman, as promised earlier by the Home Minister.
The Mahila Panchayat also strongly condemned:
• the Sports Ministry and its officials for criminal failure to implement the PoSH Act in more than half of the sports federations in the country.
• the cabinet of ministers including the Minister of Women & Child Development, who have stood as mute witnesses in the face of grave criminal violations.
• the deafening silence of the statutory bodies meant for the protection of women, children and human rights - the National Commission for Women, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and National Human Rights Commission.
Attended by many women sports persons and activists from Haryana including Sakshi Malik’s mother, Sudhesh Malik, women’s rights activists from Rajasthan and Delhi, the gathering was marked by passionate speeches about the struggles of the wrestlers in their fight for justice, vibrant affirmations of solidarity and togetherness in this uphill battle. The gathering also saw the participation of prominent women intellectuals and activists such as Zoya Hasan, Uma Chakravarti, Mridula Mukherjee, Syeda Hameed, Rajni Palriwal, Nandita Narain, Beena Pallical, Abhirami Jyothee, Anjali Bharadwaj, TK Rajlakshmi, Pamela Phillipose, Purwa Bhardwaj, Poonam Muttreja, Neeraj Mallik, Swati Joshi, Bhasha Singh, Nivedita Menon and Arfa Khanam, among others.
The Mahila Panchayat ended with a joint call for a national protest on 16th June if the government fails to fulfill its promises to the struggling wrestlers!
Mahila Panchayat organized by:
• All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA)
• All India Progressive Women’s Association (AIPWA)
• All India Mahila Sanksritik Sanghathan (AIMSS)
• Act Now for Harmony and Democracy (ANHAD)
• Centre for Struggling Women (CSW)
• Indian Christian Women’s Movement (ICWM) Delhi
• National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW)
• Peoples’ Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)
• Pragatisheel Mahila Sangathan
• Purogami Mahila Sangathan
• Saheli
• YWCA of India
Endorsed by:
1. Aanchal, Mumbai
2. Abha Bhaiya, Dharamsala
3. Anjali Bharadwaj, Delhi
4. Annie Koshi, Educationist, Delhi
5. Annie Namala
6. Apoorva Kaiwar, New Delhi
7. Archana Dwivedi, Delhi
8. Amrita Johri, Delhi
9. Arundhati Dhuru, National Alliance of Peoples’ Movements (NAPM), Lucknow
10. Asha Sharma, All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), Delhi
11. Beena Pallical, National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR)
12. Bhavna Sharma, Delhi
13. Bulbul Dhar, Delhi
14. Deepti Bharti, Gen. Sec., Delhi National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW)
15. Enakshi Ganguly, Goa
16. Jaya Iyer, artist and facilitator
17. Justice for Wrestlers, Madurai
18. Kachanar, Delhi
19. Kavita Krishnan, feminist activist, Delhi
20. Kirti Singh, AIDWA Centre
21. Lata Bhise Sonawane, National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) Pune, Maharashtra
22. Lata Singh, Associate Professor, JNU
23. Leena Dabiru, Development & Legal Consultant, Delhi
24. Maimoona Mollah, All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) Delhi
25. Mallika Sarabhai, Ahmedabad
26. Mamta Jaitly, Jaipur
27. Mandvi, Member, Centre for Struglling Women (CSW), Delhi
28. Mariam Dhawale, General Secretary, All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA)
29. Mavis Russell, Indian Christian Women’s Movement (ICWM) Delhi
30. Maya John, Centre for Struggling Women (CSW)
31. Meena Gopal, Forum Against Oppression of Women (FAOW), Mumbai
32. Minakshi Singh, Unity in Compassion (UIC)
33. Mridula Mukherjee, historian, Delhi
34. Namita Unnikrishnan, Reflexologist, Delhi
35. Nandini Manjrekar, Mumbai
36. Nandini Sundar, Sociologist, Delhi
37. Nandita Narain, Delhi University
38. Neerja Rajeev Prasad, Secretary National, Indian Christian Women’s Movement (ICWM)
39. Nidhi, Feminist Activist, Gurugram
40. Nivedita Menon, JNU, Delhi
41. P. K. Sreemathi, President, All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA)
42. Poonam Kaushik, All India coordination POW PMS IJM
43. Prof Anita Rampal
44. Prof. Sudha Singh
45. Purwa Bhardwaj, Delhi
46. Rakhi Sehgal, Independent Labour Researcher, New Delhi
47. Raynah Marise, National Chair, Indian Christian Women’s Movement (ICWM) India
48. Richa, Pragatisheel Mahila Ekta Kendra, New Delhi
49. Ridhima Mehra. Delhi
50. Ritu Kaushik, AIMSS
51. Runu, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
52. Rupa Mehta, Ahmedabad
53. S Punyavathi, Treasurer All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA)
54. Sadhana Bhalla, Educator, Delhi
55. Sania Hashmi, Anhad Films
56. Seema Azad, PUCL, Allahabad
57. Sehba Taban, Activist, Delhi
58. Shahrukh Alam, Delhi
59. Shals Mahajan, Hasrat-e-Zindagi Mamuli, Mumbai
60. Shalu Raizada, Social Activist, Delhi
61. Sheeba Aslam Fehmi, Delhi
62. Shobha, Pragatisheel Mahila Sangathan, Delhi
63. Shweta Raj, All India Progressive Women’s Association (AIPWA), New Delhi
64. Sucharita, Purogami Mahila Sangathan
65. Sucheta Mahajan, Historian, Delhi
66. Suneeta Dhar, Activist
67. Sunil Kumar, Delhi
68. Supriya Kumar, researcher/journalist, Delhi
69. Sushma Ramswami, Delhi Indian Christian Women’s Movement (ICWM)
70. Syeda Hameed, former Member, NCW and Planning Commission, Delhi
71. Uma Chakravarti, feminist historian, Delhi
72. Vanita Nayak Mukherjee, Delhi
73. Varnika Goel, Student, Delhi
74. Venu Arora, Noida
75. Vertika Mani, Secretary, Peoples’ Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Delhi
76. Y Krishna Jyothi, Journalist, Hyderabad
77. Zoya Hasan, Delhi
For more info, contact:
Annie Raja, NFIW – 9868181992
Dhiya Ann Mathew, YWCA - 6238224596
Jagmati Sangwan - 9650463835
Maimoona Mollah, AIDWA - 9811478191
Maya John, CSW - 9540716048
Poonam Kaushik, Pragatisheel Mahila Sangathan - 9811136242
Ritu Kaushik, AIMSS - 9958115869
Shabnam Hashmi, Anhad - 9811807558
Shweta Raj, AIPWA – 8587944167
Sucharita, Purogami Mahila Sangathan – 9810282052
Vani Subramanian, Saheli - 9891128911
Vertika Mani, PUCL Delhi - 8447673005
