Members of Dalit Sthree Sakthi on Wednesday kicked off a campaign seeking gender equality and an end to atrocities against women.
Addressing a press conference, the organisation’s national convener Jhansi Geddam said the members would visit slum habitations in city to educate Dalits, women and girl children about their rights and responsibilities.
The awareness drive is part of the annual International Campaign against Violence on Women, spearheaded by UN Women for 16 days, from November 25 up to December 10, culminating in Human Rights Day.
Ms. Jhansi said the campaign would move from here to Guntur and West Godavari districts in the next three days and then head to Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy and Vikarabad districts in Telangana.
A roundtable conference where Dalit and Adivasi victims of violence would share their experiences in the presence of officials of the departments concerned would form part of the campaign, she said.
The organisation is focussing on shining the spotlight on gender inequality, a social evil that is at the root of all forms of oppression and violence against women, she said.
“Our objective is to help women understand the banes of this patriarchal ideology and the need to break free of it,” she said, adding that besides public meetings, the organisation would visit villages, towns and district centres and interact with the public on the key issues as part of the awareness drive.
Hemalatha and Bhagya Lakshmi, Dalit Sthree Sakthi’s coordinators for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana respectively, were present.
