Chennai’s Shaheen Bagh-style protest enter 5th day

Holding a wireless microphone in her hand, 21-year-old Riyana navigates the crowd of women in the narrow by-lanes of Washermanpet to make sure everyone sitting under a makeshift tent was served hot food for lunch on Tuesday afternoon.

Riyana, a housewife, hasn’t been home, except for a quick shower, since Friday as she has made the tent her home along with hundreds of Muslim women from her neighbourhood.

Riyana and other protesters are camping in the area for the past five days, eating and sleeping through the night under a makeshift tent after police allegedly used force to disperse them while protesting against Citizenship (Amendment) Act and National Registry of Citizens (NRC).

Not just the 21-year-old, but hundreds of women from the Washermanpet area have become face of the movement against CAA and NRC in Tamil Nadu. In what is termed as Chennai’s very own Shaheen Bagh, the by-lanes overlooking the old pencil factory bus stop has been reverberating with slogans against CAA, NRC and NPR since February 14.

Hundreds of women and men belonging to different faiths have been visiting the protest site to express solidarity with those agitating against CAA and NRC which they fear would drive those from a particular religion out of their homes in their own country. Not just the protesters, even visitors are served with tea, snacks and food, thanks to several people who have donated water bottles and other food materials.

“We will be the worst affected if CAA and NRC are implemented. Why should we not protest when we know we can be driven out of our homes for not possessing documents which we never heard of. I was born in Washermanpet, raised here and got married to someone in the same locality. Whom do I prove my nationality or my nativity?” Riyana asked.

Parveen, 22, interjected and said “Chennai’s Shaheen Bagh was a proud display of women power. The women want the Tamil Nadu government to pass a resolution in the state assembly against CAA and announce that NPR will not be undertaken here."

Not just women, but children too have joined the protests. Holding the national tricolour in her hand, 9-year-old Hina Banu was shouting slogans against CAA and NRC. “I have not gone to school since Monday. My mother told me CAA is not good and hence, I came here to protest. All of us from the family are here for the past few days,” Banu told DH.

Parveen added: “We came to protest on our own. We didn’t ask anyone before coming here. We decided to stay here after police used force to disperse the crowd and prevent us from assembling here. We will not budge till the Chief Minister announces that the government will not implement CAA in Tamil Nadu.”

The women feel NPR was linked with CAA which would lead to NRC. “Six questions in the NPR form about our birthplace and parent’s birthplace and the need to provide documents to prove our relationship has spawned doubts about the exercise. We feel the exercise will only target one community and that is the Muslim community,” Parveen added.