All-Women Kisan Sansad To Mark Eight Months Of Farmers’ Protest
FILE PHOTO: Women farmers attend a protest against farm laws on the occasion of International Women's Day at Bahadurgarh, near the Haryana-Delhi border
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) announced on Sunday that women will conduct the ongoing ‘Kisan Sansad’ at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Monday, as the farmers’ protest against the three farm laws completes eight months.
Thousands of farmers at Delhi borders have been pressing for their demand to repeal the three farm laws enacted last year.
The collective of over 40 protesting farmer unions said in a statement that several convoys of women farmers were reaching the Delhi borders to join the ‘Mahila Kisan Sansad’.
“Tomorrow’s Kisan Sansad at Jantar Mantar will be conducted entirely by women. The Mahila Kisan Sansad will reflect the key role that women play in Indian agriculture, and their critical role in the ongoing movement too. Convoys of women farmers from various districts are reaching the morchas for the Mahila Kisan Sansad,” the SKM said.
The umbrella body of farmer unions has been protesting against the three contentious farm laws at Jantar Mantar since July 22, during the monsoon session of Parliament.
It claimed that the last eight months witnessed several lakh farmers from almost all states of India joining the protests.
“The protests have been peaceful and reflect the centuries-old ethos of our ‘anna daatas’. They reflect their persistence and perseverance in the face of hardships, and the determination and hope that they possess for the future,” the statement said.
SKM leaders will also be going to Lucknow on Monday to launch ‘Mission Uttar Pradesh’.
“As is known, Uttar Pradesh will be going into Assembly elections next year. In the panchayat elections held earlier this year, the farmers’ movement left its mark with BJP candidates punished in many places, and independents gaining most number of seats,” it said.
It added that new groups of farmers were reaching different protest sites, including a tractor rally that reached the Ghazipur border on Sunday from Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh.
