AIDWA to launch campaign for women safety and welfare

STATE PRESIDENT OF AIDWA, MADHU GARG SAID THE ORGANISATION WILL ALSO TRY TO MOUNT PRESSURE FOR CONSTRUCTION OF TOILETS IN RURAL AND SLUM AREAS

The All India Democratic Women Association (AIDWA) is going to launch twomonth long campaign and agitation in different cities and other parts of the country on issues related to women safety and welfare from Monday.

“Our protests and campaigns will be focused on issues related to women safety, domestic violence, open defecation problem for rural and lower strata women and increasing sense of insecurity due to authoritarian policies of the government,” said Mariam Dhawale, national general secretary of AIDWA while interacting with media persons in the city on Sunday.

Dhawale was in the city for three-day organisational workshop of AIDWA to intensity their movement on atrocities against women.

She said the AIDWA and other women organisations will hold a huge convention in Delhi on Monday to launch their twomonth long movement.

“Our first focus point is to deter the government in weakening section 498-A of Indian Penal Code (IPC) for domestic violence by forming a screening committee before registration of FIR under this section,” she said.

“There would be some false case of domestic violence but that does not mean that the law should be diluted,” she said.

She said the government stance over 498-A IPC hints its approach towards suppressing women.

She said the government policies had led to lowest rate of work participation of women since Independence.

She said the women are being forced to work in unorganised sectors leading to their harassment.

Sharing further details about their movement, state president of AIDWA, Madhu Garg said the organisation will also try to mount pressure for construction of toilets in rural and slum areas.

She said they are carrying out a ground survey over the issue and will send it the authorities concerned.

Garg said similar campaign will be launched for improving facilities at primary health centre and community health centre to ensure better medical treatment for poor and rural women and children.

She said the demand will be raised to increase health budget of the state focusing the rural sector.

State secretary of AIDWA, Malti, who hails from Gorakhpur, said in a survey of rural areas of Gorakhpur she found that no work had been done for cleanliness when flood water recedes.

She said this is the season when encephalitis disease spreads in the regions and hundreds of children die every year.

There is a need to launch a massive cleanliness and vaccination drive to fight encephalitis in the region, she added.

District president of AIDWA, Seema Rana said the women workers will send unsweetened sweets to chief minister Yogi Adityanath to mark their protest against the government’s decision to not provide sugar on subsidised rates from ration shops.

She said the agitation will be held at villages and local level to make women aware about their rights.