New Delhi: The streets of Delhi are currently braided with different protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Starting from the sit-in at Shaheen Bagh, women have come forward in big numbers to claim the streets at different locations – Sundernagri, Chandibagh, Seelampur, Khureji Khas, Azad Market, Turkman Gate, Eidgah, Hauz Rani and Nizamuddin. As the protests continue, several members of the Bharatiya Janata Party have been making statements to label these protests and protestors.
After the attack on students at Jamia Millia Islamia on December 15, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that “those indulging in arson can be identified by their clothes”.
Also read: Mahila Ekta Yatra: Finding Diversity in Unity
As social activist Anjali Bhardwaj says, there seems to be an assumption that those protesting the CAA and the NRC are people of “only one religion” and that the Act will only affect one community. Besides, comments have also been made about how protestors are “feasting” on biryani – a food item culturally associated with Muslims.
The Mahila Ekta Yatra was organised in an attempt to overturn these narratives.