Vote for change — a group by women, for women

For the upcoming Lok Sabha elections there is no woman candidate from the Thane constituency as yet. However, women power is set to be unleashed in Thane, thanks to a recently formed group called Vote for Change, which is encouraging participation of women during the elections.

Anupriya Kujur, an active member of the group, said, "The group has been formed to encourage women across Thane city to exercise their right to vote. We, as women, face many problems at the hands of various authorities. Hence, our participation in voting is a demand of sorts for safety and security from the elected representative."

Seconding Kujur, another group member Sakshi Garg said, "Rapes, cases of molestation and various other crimes against women have gone up. Our safety and security is at stake and, hence, we are forced to think about ourselves. Until and unless we are not considered a deciding factor, changes will be very slow for us."

"There are teenagers as well as senior citizens in our group. We tell every woman we come across, even a passer-by at times, that she should exercise her right to vote. Besides working women, we have also been talking to housewives, explaining to them why they need to vote and how they can become a part of the change. Though we have just started, we hope to reach a maximum number of women soon," a member said.

Besides paying door-to-door visits, the group members are also speaking to women at their workplaces, in colleges and at home and encouraging them to vote. The elderly women are playing a crucial role in doing word-of-mouth publicity.