Forward march for women's safety - 500 join Catholic Mahila Sangh rally

Women and students participate in the rally for India’s Missing Girls at Beldih on Sunday. Picture by Bhola Prasad

Hundreds of Jamshedpur residents, led by Catholic Mahila Sangh, are walking the empowerment talk.

Over 500 women and men, both young and old, from various communities took part in a city rally on Sunday to spread the message of gender equality, two days after International Women’s Day.

The walk, inaugurated by Jamshedpur Bishop Felix Toppo, started at Loyola School grounds with 500 members.

The rally covered about 3km across Dhatkidih, Straight Mile Road, Jusco Town Office, Sakchi Boulevard and then culminated at the starting point. Women carried placards with slogans such as “Hum janani hai to humara tiraskar kyun”, “Betiyon ka bhi hai siksha ka adhikar” and “Let us live”.

College students performed a cultural event on India’s missing girls. Students from Narbheram Hansraj English School, JH Tarapore School, Valley View School, Motilal Nehru Public School and others also participated

A candlelight service was also held in the memory of Delhi bus rape victim.

After the Delhi bus rape in December last year, Catholic Mahila Sangh decided to join the rally “Global walk for India's missing girls”. The walk is a campaign against female foeticide in India by Nyna Pais Caputi, a film-maker from San Francisco, which has truly grown global. Caputi has also made a documentary film on the subject, Petals in the Dust.

“The rally is organised by Catholic Mahila Sangh but social outfits, schools and colleges have joined it wholeheartedly. This was a major forward march for us this first Sunday after International Women’s Day,” said Katrina Minz, a member.

“We are planning more events to push gender equality,” said Manisha Topno, vice-president of Catholic Mahila Sangh.

Walks are also being held in New Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Agra, Pondicherry, Ludhiana, Calcutta, San Francisco, Ontario, Dublin, Melbourne and Kuwait.