Campaign Reservation Express is in Mumbai to garner support and press the government to pass the 33% Women’s Reservation Bill in its present format in the Lok Sabha and state assembly.
Campaign Reservation Express, a team travelling in caravans representing 200 organisations across the country, is in Mumbai to garner support and press the government to pass the 33% Women’s Reservation Bill in its present format in the Lok Sabha and state assembly this monsoon session.
Sixty members of the express travelling in three caravans were flagged off from Jhansi on May 20 and will be travelling to 56 cities crossing over 15,000 kilometres. Eighteen members from different parts of the country such as Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Karnataka are travelling together in a caravan to Mumbai and Delhi to campaign for the Bill.
The campaign was initiated and conceived by Anhad, an NGO, and organised in conjunction with several other women’s organisations, networks and civil society groups across the country.
“We celebrated our minor victory when the historic bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha. However, the government was silent about it during the budget session and is hesitant about debating it in the upcoming monsoon session. Our objective is to take the message to all the major cities and grass roots organisations on our way,” said Nandita Shah, director of Akshara, an NGO working for women’s causes.
The 60-member team in three caravans is represented by various women’s organisations. “The three caravans are taking different routes to spread the message. While we were flagged off from Jhansi, the first caravan will journey through Uttar Pradesh and travel to North-East India. The second caravan will pass through Madhya Pradesh and will journey towards South India. Our team, led by eighteen women and men, will go to Delhi on June 7 and present the signatures collected on the way to the authorities,” said Mansi Sharma, activist, Anhad.
Noorjahan Shaikh, a member from Gujarat, felt that this is the only opportunity to get the Bill passed. “We have been fighting for over 14 years now and we are so close to success. If we do not raise our voice and pressurise the government, we will not get another opportunity,” she said.
The team in Mumbai is being hosted and supported by the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) at Colaba. “We want to make sure that we get 33% reservation for women,” said Gissi Jacob, member, YWCA.
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