Shaheen Bagh — a sight of Hope, Love and Resilience

Shaheen Bagh situated along the banks of the Yamuna near universities like Jamia Millia Islamia has been a protest venue since December 15, 2019 following the passing of the Citizenship Amendment Act in Rajya Sabha.

The Shaheen Bagh protest is led by women who have been braving the biting-cold Delhi winter continues and has now entered into its 26th day. The sight at Shaheen Bagh is — of hope, love, and most importantly resilience. People of ages and religions are participating and volunteering to keep the protest on.

Along with the protestors, many activists, artists and Bollywood celebrities like Swara Bhaskar, Zeeshan Ayyub among others have also been a part of anti CAA protests at Jamia University and Shaheen Bagh earlier this week.

The women of Shaheen Bagh, say they are not just fighting for their rights but for the soul of the country’s secular fabric.

We spoke to Saima Khan, a housewife and a mother who has been protesting from the very first day for the safety of students in schools, colleges and universities and women’s safety in the country.

“Mai ek maa hun aur hum dekh rahe hain humare bache schools main, hostels main, universities main safe nahi hain. Modi ji bright future ki baat karte hain unko bachon ka bhhavishya khatre me hai nahi dikh raha hai? Toh bright future ki toh hum baat hi nahi kar sakte. Aur ye protest tab tak chalega jab tak humari maange poori nahi hoti jab tak CAA aur NRC wapas nahi hota tab tak.” — Saima Khan

We also met Sumra Khan, an 18-year-old student of Jamia Millia Islamia university who explained how the violent incident took place in Jamia University on 15th December 2019 and talked about how the protest has been going on here at Shaheen Bagh.

“Government samjhe ki this is not only ki muslims agar protest kar rahe hain ki haan sirf muslim waali cheez hai but yahan pe Hindu Muslim Sikh Christian, every religion is present here so it is for Hindustan it is for Indians. The government should take the decision back” — Sumra Khan

We spoke to some more people who were participating in the protests to know their opinions. Here’s what they had to say “Women are always considered as a weaker sex and there is this opinion that even muslim women have to face a different level of oppression altogether because they are mandated to be behind the veil but seeing this the way this protest is being led mostly by muslim women, this is something which is extraordinary. And, more than anything else, reclaiming our symbols, our flag, our constitution this is something really really important for the country.”