New Delhi: Thousands of women farmers held protest marches and delivered speeches at the Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur border protest sites on International Women's Day as women took over the movement against the Centre's three farm laws.
Noting that women contribute significantly to the country's farming sector, the organisers laid out elaborate plans for women farmers to manage the stage, arrange food and security and share tales of their struggles on the occasion. In fact, on many occasions, protesters strictly enforced the day's rules and stopped men from taking over the protest stages across the three border protest
sites.
"The stage is being managed by women, the speakers are all women and the issues that are being discussed are of both farming and women farmers more specifically," farmer leader Kavitha Kuruganti told reported on Monday.
"The discourse of the debate is focusing on women farmers. The debate is also on the contribution of women in this movement," said Kuruganti, who is also a member of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha.
She added that the participation of women has increased significantly with the arrival of "thousands of women".
Women from different parts of Punjab, Haryana and UP converged at Delhi's borders to celebrate Women's Day and participated in protest activities. Many said that the government was hoping farmers would leave the protest and tend to their lands. They would figure out a way to sustain both - if needed the women will protest as the men tend to the lands or the women will sow the crops as the men protest — but the movement will not be stopped, they said.
Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at the Delhi border points for over 100 days, demanding the repeal of farm laws and a legal guarantee on the minimum support price for their crops.
Meanwhile, as the protest activities picked up pace across the border site, the Delhi Metro shut the Entry and exit gates of stations on the Tikri Kalan-Brigadier Hoshiar Singh section of the Green Line for over five hours "due to security reasons". At around 4 pm, the DMRC again tweeted that the entry and exit facilities had been
reopened.
International Women's Day is celebrated across the world on March 8 and it is a day when women are recognised for their achievements, according to the United Nations.