THIS period has been a very challenging time for all the progressive, democratic and secular forces in the country. The results of the 17th Lok Sabha elections have been a great setback. The BJP aroused nationalist jingoism, zeroing in on Pulwama and Balakot, and shifted the poll narrative from the burning issues of the people. The consolidation of the Hindutva vote bank through communally charged campaigns and violent attacks strengthened communal polarisation and helped the BJP.

THE All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), in a statement issued on June 11, has welcomed the judgement of the Pathankot sessions court which has convicted three main accused of rape and murder of a minor girl in Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir on January 10, 2018 to life imprisonment. Sanji Ram, one of the main convicted is the priest of the temple where the crime took place. He has been supported by the Hindu Ekta Manch which has the backing of the BJP in Jammu and Kashmir.

THE CPI(M), Delhi state committee, in a statement issued on June 4, has welcomed the decision of the Delhi state government to provide free travel for women in the metro and state run buses. This will especially provide welcome relief to lakhs of women working in the unorganised sector who are deprived of even minimum wages.    

The following is the statement issued by AIDWA on May 7

THE All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) is deeply disturbed by the manner in which the “In-House Committee” of the Supreme Court found “no substance” in the allegations of sexual harassment made by an ex-employee of the Supreme Court. The ex-employee had made a long complaint of 28 pages on affidavit supported by documents and a video of how she had been sexually harassed by the CJI in October 2018 and the victimisation faced by her and her husband and brother-in-law thereafter.

ON March 8, thousands of women took to the streets of Delhi marching from Mandi House to Parliament Street in solidarity with the International Day of the Women, which witnesses’ global participation. In the spirit of fighting back, thousands of women thronged the streets of Delhi, with a spectrum of demands, from safety and the right to live with dignity to minimum wages and fair compensation of their work.