THOUSANDS of women came out on the streets across Bihar in a hartal (strike) on 8 March 2019 to demand justice for the victims in the Muzaffarpur shelter home case and the resignation of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The hartal was organized by AIPWA and supported by AISA and RYA.
AIPWA National General Secretary Meena Tiwari said that during the World War when the entire world was pushed into the flames of war, women came out with the demand that they wanted not war but bread. Today once again Narendra Modi is busy inflaming passions and inciting war. Meena Tiwari said that it is the sons, husbands, and fathers of our homes who go to the battlefield; those who fight on the border are the sons of farmers’ families. On this occasion of International Women’s Day we want to reiterate that today also, women are against war and in favour of peace. Expressing anger against Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, she said that he remains glued to his Chief Minister’s seat even after the court’s directive that the CBI should include him in their probe into the Muzaffarpur shelter home case. It is Nitish Kumar’s moral duty to resign from the Chief Minister’s post. The victims of the shelter home are crying out for justice and the resignation of Nitish Kumar.
Hundreds of women and students came out on the streets of Patna and organized a march from Buddha Memorial Park to Kargill Chowk where a meeting was held. Along with AIPWA, AISA and RYA activists, women of the city participated in large numbers in the hartal, led by AIPWA Bihar State Secretary Shashi Yadav, Prof Bharti S Kumar, Anita Kumari, Madhu, Anuradha and other women leaders. During the hartal, women demanded Nitish Kumar’s resignation, enquiry into all shelter homes in Bihar, and also a probe into the political protection given to the guilty in the shelter home case. Hirawal artists Preeti Prabha, Neha, Nikki and Poonam presented Gorakh Pandey’s famous song ‘Gulamiya Ab Hum Nahi Bajaibo’.
Addressing the meeting, Shashi Yadav said that today thousands of women are out on the streets across Bihar demanding Nitish Kumar’s resignation. ASHA workers and other working women’s organizations are participating in large numbers in this strike. While sexual abuse in shelter homes is being given protection under the Nitish regime, scheme workers are being given the status of secondary citizens. ASHA workers, Rasoiyas, Anganwadi workers, and PMCH nurses participated in large numbers in the hartal.
Prof Bharti S Kumar said that the present Central and State governments are only playing politics in the name of women. The reality is that both these governments are bent on pushing women down to the lowest level. They have no respect or regard for women and do not want to see women on an equal footing.
AISA National General Secretary Com. Sandeep Saurav said that under the present regime rape and violence against women is increasing by leaps and bounds. Youth are not getting employment, and women are deprived of education and health. On the other hand, the government is busy shamelessly playing politics in the name of women and youth.
RYA State Secretary Sudhir said that the ruling classes are not only playing politics in the name of women, they are also playing vote bank politics with the sons, brothers, husbands, and fathers from these women’s homes. He demanded that politics in the name of martyred soldiers should stop, and Nitish Kumar should resign, taking responsibility for the spate of rapes and violence on Bihar’s innocent, poor, dalit, and orphan girl children. The meeting was also addressed by Anganwadi leader Com. Geeta Devi. Apart from Patna, the Hartal was also organized at District centres including Bhojpur, Jehanabad, Arwal, and Darbhanga.
