Uttar Pradesh women follow Shaheen Bagh; 'Dharna' against Citizenship Act spreads to smaller towns

Following the footsteps of the indefinite dharna (sit-in) against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act by women at Shaheen Bagh in Delhi, Muslim women have embarked upon 'dharnas' at many places in Uttar Pradesh putting the state authorities in a quandary.

On Thursday over two hundred Muslim women embarked on a 'dharna' against the CAA inside the Jama Masjid in UP's Rampur town, about 325 kilometres from here.

District police officials tried their best to get the women to call off their protest but they remained adamant and made it clear that they would continue their 'dharna' until the CAA was scrapped.

''We are keeping a strict watch on the situation...we have asked the religious leaders to persuade the women to end their dharna,'' said a senior police official in Rampur.

A similar protest by women has been going at Mansoor Ali Park in Prayagraj town in the state for the past six days. Hundreds of Muslim women and children have been staying put at the Park demanding the withdrawal of the CAA.

According to the sources the police have booked more than one hundred women for violation of the prohibitory orders. ''We have appealed to the women to call off their dharna,'' said a senior police official in Prayagraj.

'Dharnas' of the similar kind were also being held at Kanpur, Bareilly and Deoband towns, reports said. In Kanpur, people from all walks of life have joined the sit-in, which is held for three hours every day. In Deoband around a thousand Muslim women have embarked on a sit-in against the CAA at Idgah grounds.

Interestingly, all these sit-ins were organised by the women and there was hardly any presence of politicians though the latter have extended them support.

UP police, which came under sharp attack from different quarters for their brutal crackdown on the CAA protesters last month, have so far refrained from using force.