Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Saturday observed the International Women’s Day as a protest day, alleging that the condition of women in the state was dismal.
The party’s women leaders, led by OPCC chief Bhakta Charan Das, staged a sit-in at the Master Cantee Square here and alleged that the state government “had failed to do justice for women.”
Besides Das, party MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati, several former PCC chiefs, and senior leaders participated in the dharna as a mark of solidarity towards the agitating women members.
Alleging that the women of Odisha are subjected to humiliation and exploitation under the ‘double engine’ government, Das said as many as “1,600 cases of crimes against women have been registered in the state and 54 gang-rapes have taken place after the BJP came to power in the state, which is a cause of concern.”
“Atrocities against women have crossed all limits under the ‘Narendra-Mohan’ government. But the state government is sitting idle and helpless,” he alleged, adding that “the BJP was hitting the streets whenever a crime against a woman took place when the BJD was in power. However, now the saffron party is silent.”
Describing the situation as “unfortunate,” the OPCC president said, “A ninth standard student of a state-run Ashram School in Keonjhar, the CM’s home district, has become pregnant, while a class 10 girl delivered a baby in Chitrakonda area of Malkangiri.”
“In Dhenkanal, a woman was gang-raped by seven men for a long time, while a class 10 girl became pregnant in Jajpur. In Cuttack, a minor girl was raped in a brick kiln, while a tribal girl was raped in Laxmipur,” he claimed.
Das said places like schools, colleges, universities and workplaces were also not safe for women. “Girls are dying by suicide in educational institute campuses due to sexual violence,” he said.
Das called on women from every family, from rural to urban areas, to participate in a protest to be organised by Congress on March 10 against rising atrocities against women.
Bahinipati asked the state government to “formulate a special Bill to ensure safety and security of women in Odisha.”
PTI
