From housewives to hijab-clad students, women take centre stage in India's protests

Record ID: 1449677

  • Title: From housewives to hijab-clad students, women take centre stage in India's protests
  • Date: 21st December 2019
  • Summary: NEW DELHI, INDIA (DECEMBER 21, 2019) (REUTERS) CURRENT AND FORMER STUDENTS OF JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA UNIVERSITY MAKING POSTERS FOR PROTESTS FORMER STUDENT TANYA TARIQ MAKING POSTER HAND WRITING ON POSTER JAMIA STUDENT ANAM HUSSAIN (LEFT) MAKING POSTERS WITH ANOTHER STUDENT HUSSAIN'S FACE HUSSAIN, TARIQ AND UNNAMED STUDENT MAKING POSTERS TARIQ'S HAND DRAWING ON POSTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER STUDENT OF JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA UNIVERSITY, TANYA TARIQ, SAYING: "We (women) have become more powerful, rather than, you know, getting into our houses and saying - 'no, no, we can't go outside because so much was happening'. The whole of India, rather the world is with us, okay. And I believe that it should not stop unless and until the government takes back this (law)." PLACARD READING (English): "JAMIA AGAINST NRC (National Register of Citizens) AND CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act)" TARIQ, HUSSAIN, AND UNNAMED STUDENT ROLLING THEIR POSTERS POSTER BEING ROLLED (SOUNDBITE) (English) ARCHITECTURE STUDENT IN JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA UNIVERSITY, ANAM HUSSAIN, SAYING: "So, when we got the news that it is happening inside the reading room, we understood that it could have been us also who were there, who would have been affected by it. So, after 15th (of December) lot of students, lot of people from Jamia, actually came out on the streets to protest." HUSSAIN, TARIQ AND UNNAMED STUDENT WALKING TO PROTEST TARIQ WALKING WITH POSTER IN HER HAND TARIQ, HUSSAIN, AND UNNAMED STUDENT WALKING WITH POSTERS GATES OF JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA UNIVERSITY, STUDENTS CHANTING OUTSIDE BANNER AT UNIVERSITY GATE VARIOUS OF FEMALE STUDENTS INCLUDING, TARIQ AND HUSSAIN, PROTESTING AND HOLDING POSTERS VARIOUS OF POSTER IN HUSSAIN'S HANDS, READING (English): "SAVE THE PLURALIST FABRIC OF INDIA - SAVE THE CONSTITUTION- NO CAA NO NRC" VARIOUS OF STUDENTS CLAPPING AND CHANTING PROTESTER HOLDING PLACARD OVER HER HEAD, READING (English): "WE LOVE INDIA, DON'T DIVIDE US, REJECT CAA, REJECT NRC" LOUDSPEAKER STUDENTS SINGING AND CLAPPING PROTESTER HOLDING PLACARD OVER HER HEAD, READING (English): "WE ARE STAND HERE ALL INDIAN" (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) PROTESTER, MUJEEB (FIRST NAME NOT KNOWN), SAYING: "We want them (government) to roll back CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) and NRC (National Register of Citizens) unconditionally, only then we will sit quietly, or we will be on roads. We won't get off roads, even if they beat us with sticks, or fire bullets at us, or put us in jails. We don't get out of our houses like this. This dress (burqa) teaches us decency, to stay in our houses. However, today we are forced to come on roads to raise our voices and we know that without raising our voice, it won't work." NEW DELHI, INDIA (DECEMBER 20, 2019) (REUTERS) WOMEN AND CHILDREN HOLDING POSTERS AND PLACARDS AT A PROTEST AGAINST CITIZENSHIP LAW
  • Embargoed: 4th January 2020 20:07
  • Keywords: Citizenship law India Jamia Millia Islamia University New Delhi protests
  • Location: NEW DELHI, INDIA
  • City: NEW DELHI, INDIA
  • Country: India
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Civil Unrest
  • Reuters ID: LVA001BAX5A9Z
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Anam Hussain and Tanya Tariq, two young Muslim women in India, have been busy preparing placards to protest against a new citizenship law introduced by the government.
    "The whole of India, rather the world, is with us," Tariq, a former student at Jamia Millia Islamia University, said on Saturday (December 21) as she gave some finishing touches to her latest posters. Jamia Millia is a major public university in the capital New Delhi where a large number of Muslims study.
    As protests in India grow by the day against a new citizenship law that critics say targets Muslims, they have drawn many women and girls - some housewives, some students with hijabs covering their hair, and others in full-length burqa robes - in a rare sign of public anger against the government.
    The women can be seen painting graffiti on university walls, organizing rallies and gathering funds for posters and food for protesters.
    Anam Hussain, an architecture student at Jamia, said she had been moved to act after some of her friends had been injured when police stormed the Jamia campus to break up a protest involving hundreds of students last weekend.
    At least 200 students were injured as police fired tear gas and used batons to disperse the crowd. The police have denied using excess force.
    The protests, some of the most widespread in India in recent years, erupted on December 11 after Parliament passed the controversial law, which protesters say is an attack on India's secular foundations.
    The Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi insists the new law is essential as it eases the path for minorities from neighbouring countries to gain Indian citizenship. But critics say it is biased as it excludes Muslim immigrants.
    (Production: Neeraj Khanna, Adnan Abidi, Sunil Kataria)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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