Report by correspondent of Mazdoor Ekta Committee (MEC)
Women constitute half our work force. A large number of working women encounter sexual harassment at their work place. When half the working class feels insecure and vulnerable, the fighting capacity of the entire class reduces drastically, directly and indirectly. The fight of the wrestlers demanding justice and punishment to the guilty is thus a fight of not just all working women but of the entire working class and people.
Thousands of people took part in a candle light march from Jantar Mantar to India Gate on the evening of May 23, to demand justice for the protesting wrestlers. The march was held to mark the culmination of one month of the wrestlers’ protest at Jantar Mantar, which began on April 23.
The protestors have accused Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the president of the Wrestling Federation of India, of sexual harassment of the women wrestlers. They have demanded that he should be removed from his post, arrested and punished.
Organisations of workers, kisans, women, students and youth and hundreds of people have been expressing their solidarity with the protestors at the protest site daily. Huge rallies have been organised, demanding justice for the wrestlers as well as prevention of sexual harassment of women in the workplace.
The participants in the candle light march on May 23 held placards and banners highlighting their demands. Ashoka Road and Rajpath in Central Delhi resounded with the militant slogans of the protestors and the spirited songs of resistance, highlighting the resolve of the people to continue the struggle for justice.