New Delhi: Senior women academicians, activists and writers released the Kittur Declaration on Saturday, March 8 in the Press Club of India, Delhi calling the women in India to rise and resist anti-women, anti-poor, anti-democratic, casteist and fascist forces in the country in order to safeguard democracy, secularism and the Constitution.
“We were promised Achhe Din (good days)! We were promised Nari Shakti (women power)! We were enticed with Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (save the girl child, educate the girl child)! We were promised Vikas (development)! We were promised cheaper gas, cheaper petrol! We were promised a $5 trillion economy! We were promised smart cities! We were promised that farmers’ income would double! We were promised ‘Housing for All’ by 2022! We were promised protection of our borders and the end of terrorist activity! 3 And what did we get? We got a lost decade! All the promises were jumlas … empty promises! Power now rests in the hands of two or three leaders, who are less and less accountable to the voters,” the declaration read.
According to a press release, the declaration was earlier adopted and released on February 21 at the Kittur Fort — which is about 50 kilometres from Belagavi in Karnataka — as part of an event commemorating 200 years of Kittur Rani Chennamma’s revolt against the British Empire.As per a post on X (previously called Twitter) by social activist Shabnam Hashmi, 2500 women participated in the event at Kittur Fort “to expose the misdeeds of the present regime in the coming days.”
Over 2500 women release The Kittur Declaration pledging to expose the misdeeds of the present regime in the coming days and declare halla bol on the anti people , authoritarian fascist govt . pic.twitter.com/H7biCXUClP
— Shabnam Hashmi (@ShabnamHashmi) February 21, 2024
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The declaration added: “It is time for us women to speak up and reclaim our land, livelihood and dignity. It is time to fight for the principles on which this country was founded.”
Further, the declaration underlined various issues like leading activists, academics and journalists are behind bars without access to the legal provision of bail; higher education institutions are being starved of funds, setting the ground for privatisation and corporatisation of our universities; a steady deterioration of law and order, with instances of mob lynchings, rapes, organised crime, looting, drug trafficking all on the rise and being committed with impunity; sectarian violence has killed hundreds, women have been raped and paraded naked in Manipur; Muslims are attacked, as are Dalits, Adivasis and increasingly the Christians.
“May we, the women of India, unite to voice our vigorous dissent of the anti-poor, anti-women, anti-minorities policies of the government,” the declaration read, adding, “Today, at Kittur Fort, let us pledge to use the power vested in us to defeat this patriarchal, autocratic and fascist regime, to bring about change, to vote out this government at the Centre!”
Social activist Anjali Bhardwaj, legal consultant Leena Dabiru, historian Mridula Mukherjee, women’s rights activist and educationist Dr Syeda Hameed and Hashmi participated in the Delhi event, as per the press release.
