Manohar Elavarthi - SANGAMA - Bangalore Pradeep Esteves - Coordinator CERI - Karnataka Edwin - OPEN SPACE Bangalore Anita Cherian – OPEN SPACE Bangalore Jyotiraj - REDS - Karnataka Evangeline Anderson Rajkumar - Professor - UTC Bangalore
On Mon, Jan 25, 2010 at 11:49 AM, Kavita Krishnan <[email protected]>wrote: > I endorse. Kavita Krishnan, All India Progressive Women's Association > (AIPWA) > > 2010/1/25 jenny rowena <[email protected]> > >> We a group of concerned academicians and activists belonging to the Kerala >> Feminist Network have come to know that Chithralekha, a Dalit woman who is >> making a living as an auto driver, has been harassed by the CITU and the >> police in Payyanur, Kannur District, Kerala, on 20th January 2010. It is >> also extremely disconcerting to note that while the general apathy of the >> police continue, the trade unions of the CPI (M) has resorted to other ways >> of demoralizing the struggle of a woman for just and equal, civil, political >> and human rights. >> >> >> >> *BACKGROUND* >> >> >> >> Chithralekha, a Dalit woman, from Payyanur in Kannur, Kerala, was one of >> the first woman auto drivers to enter a workplace dominated by men from >> higher castes. Right from the beginning there was a strong resistance to her >> and there was a three month delay in giving her a membership of the union. >> Later, when she went on to become an efficient and extremely popular auto >> rickshaw driver, the resistance against her took a violent turn. Soon she >> was subject to many acts of workplace harassment by her fellow auto drivers. >> On one occasion, the hood of her auto was torn off, she was called >> derogatory caste names, and a fellow driver even tried to run her over with >> his vehicle. Chithralekha protested against this, lodging complaints with >> the police and even managing to get one of the workers arrested with the >> help of a local Dalit activist. In the course of her protest, she also >> brought to light the fact that her district and locality still practiced >> untouchability, albeit in modern forms. Once the issue went outside the >> purview of the local auto stand, the CITU and the local CPI (M) goons >> adopted a new tactic and started tarnishing her image with wide spread >> poster campaigns. Through these posters, Chithralekha was branded as a >> sexually loose woman, a woman who drinks, whose mother was a sex worker, who >> talks like a man, who does not listen and who does not know how to behave. >> With such a campaign, Chithralekha lost all support in the locality. >> >> >> >> On December 30th, 2005, they burned down her auto, depriving her of her >> only source of livelihood. However, Chithralekha continued with her struggle >> and managed to procure a new auto through her association with various >> Dalit, Feminists and Citizen’s initiatives in June 2008. Chithralekha had >> been slowly trying to get on with her life, though she and her husband were >> often being attacked in various ways by the local CITU. It was at this point >> that the current incident occurred. >> >> * * >> >> *THE CURRENT INCIDENT* >> >> >> On the morning of 20th January 2010, Chithralekha (along with her husband >> Shreeshanth) who was about to park her auto rickshaw in front of a medical >> shop, was asked to move her vehicle from the parking spot by one Mr >> Ramachandran who is an office bearer of the CITU auto rickshaw Union in >> Payyanur. When Chithralekha protested, an altercation followed between them >> and the CITU workers started beating her up. Soon, a police jeep arrived and >> bundled the couple into the vehicle. They were taken to the police station >> and severely beaten up. Later she was allowed to go without even registering >> a case!! She has visible wounds all over her body and has had to go to the >> hospital twice after the incident. Moreover, she is unable to move out of >> her house or drive her auto as she is afraid of further violence. Shockingly >> there is very little media coverage of this issue and no local support >> available to her in defending against the attack. >> >> >> >> In this context, we strongly demand the State Government to: >> >> * * >> >> Ø *Take immediate steps to ensure the fundamental rights of >> Chithralekha to be able to work and live in her own native place, free of >> mental and physical torture. * >> >> * * >> >> Ø *Implement the provisions of the Vishakha Guidelines on Sexual >> Harassment at the Workplace for Chithralekha, an auto rickshaw driver.* >> >> * * >> >> * * >> >> Ø *Take stringent actions against the CITU workers and police >> officers on duty who inflicted violence on Chithralekha during the incident. >> * >> >> * * >> >> Ø *Constitute an Independent Judicial Commission to conduct thorough >> investigation into the whole issue* >> >> >> >> >> >> Chithralekha Solidarity, >> >> Kerala Feminist Network >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "Green Youth Movement" group. >> To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> [email protected]<greenyouth%[email protected]> >> . >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB. >> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Green Youth Movement" group. > To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]<greenyouth%[email protected]> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. 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