“Who will take care of them? Shall we hand over our kids to Yogi Adityanath?” asked Aisha, a protester at the Hussainabad Clock Tower, where women have been staging a sit-in against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) since January 17.
Tagging along with Ms. Aisha is her three-year-old son. In the crowd of a few hundred protesters, mostly women and children, Ms. Aisha is not the only mother with her child in tow.
On January 29, the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) of Lucknow issued a notice to parents bringing children to the dharna site and asked them to immediately send the children home.
It advised parents to immediately take the children home in their “best interest” so that there is “no negative impact on their psyche”. Otherwise, the CWC warned, action would be taken under Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act.
But protesters said they brought their children to the demonstration as they had no other choice. “Our CM does not have children, so he won’t understand our daily commitments,” said Ms. Aisha.
Nazia Khan has two children, ages 6 and 8 years. While her husband goes to work, she comes to the protest and stays back till the evening. “Who will take care of my children at home if I don’t take them with me?” she asked.
Several school students also justified their participation. “All I want to ask the government is when papers will be sought and people will be thrown out. Will they let us [children] stay?” asked Zainab (17), a Class XII student.
