Dalit Sthree Sakthi launches advocacy against discrimination

Vijayawada: From the date the Convention on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was announced on November 25, the Dalit Sthree Sakthi (DSS) launched advocacy by organising meetings, workshops, round table conferences and legal clinics in the schools and colleges in various villages and urban areas in the two Telugu states for 16 days till the Human Rights Day on December 10, desisting all kinds of discrimination, exploitation of Dalit, Adivasi women and children.

National convener of DSS Geddam Jhansi said here on Sunday that the advocacy was inaugurated at the Press Club here by Principal Secretary of Handlooms and Textiles Kaki Sunita and NTR district joint collector Sampat Kumar on Saturday.

Jhansi said that a workshop on Rule of Law and Constitution would be organised at AC Law College in Guntur on Monday and a round table conference would be held at Ambedkar Bhavan in Vijayawada on 30 violent incidents against Dalit and Adivasi children on November 30. A legal clinic will be conducted on December 6 in which the victims will interact with the state-level seeking justice over the indifference of police and threats from perpetrators of crime.

On the last day of the advocacy on December 10,.’She hoped that the inequalities will go away and the future generations would enjoy the equality through this advocacy.

Launching advocacy at the Press Club by flagging off the rally, principal secretary Kaki Sunita said that the 16-day advocacy plays a key role in the elimination of inequalities in society. The poor women should be aware of their rights to achieve a violence-free society. Quoting Baba Saheb Ambedkar, Sunita said that the development of Dalit women should be taken as criterion for assessing any region’s development. The low income was the cause behind violence and to overcome it we should earn more money.

The presidents and secretaries of SC and BC associations including Ratnadeep, BC Ramana and others also addressed the meeting. DSS coordinators Kumari, Mary Nirmala, Rohini and Roja also spoke.