How Shaheen Bagh Challenged Stereotypes About Muslim Women https://www.outlookindia.com/national/how-shaheen-bagh-challenged-stereotypes-about-muslim-women--news-50306 Nehal Ahmed 31 JAN 2022
Excerpted from Nothing Will Be Forgotten: From Jamia to Shaheen Bagh by Nehal Ahmed , LeftWord Books
On 14 December, a few women went onto the road at GD Birla Marg (also known as Kalindi Kunj Road) to protest against the CAA. This was a small protest. After the attack on Jamia, the protest became huge. People from Shaheen Bagh, especially women, gathered on the road that links Delhi to Noida and blocked it. They erected a stage on the road, the protest site extended to a kilometre. This became the epicentre of a 24-hour sit-in. It would last until the police vacated it due to COVID-19 on 24 March 2020, making it a 101-day protest.
Shaheen Bagh emerged out of the crackdown on Jamia on 15 December (as well as the crackdown that same day on Aligarh Muslim University). It became a symbol of the movement. Muslim women are often seen as marginalized. Having led the anti-CAA movement, they have developed a more profound sense of their political identity
A movement changes not only the society but the individuals who participate in the protest. All those who participated in Shaheen Bagh and the anti-CAA movement have developed a more profound sense of their political identity. The goal was to scrap the CAA. But the more important goal was the creation of tens of thousands of people with political commitment.
A movement changes not only the society but the individuals who participate in the protest. All those who participated in Shaheen Bagh and the anti-CAA movement have developed a more profound sense of their political identity. The goal was to scrap the CAA. But the more important goal was the creation of tens of thousands of people with political commitment.