Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Moved by Sonia's Story, Dhindsa to Raise Acid Attacks Issue in Parliament


Shiromani Akali Dal leader and Ex-Union Minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa was so moved after meeting Sonia and other campaigners from Stop Acid Attacks, that he agreed to take up the issue in the Indian Parliament. Mr Dhindsa has agreed to take the role of Ambassador of the campaign in Indian Parliament to end Acid Attacks in India. He also stressed that he will be taking up the issue with Home Ministry in coming days. Other campaigners who met Mr Dhindsa include Anurag Dixit, Ashish Shukla and Nihal.

In recent days India has seen sharp rise in Acid Attacks. Acids have emerged as new weapon against women. The campaigners with Stop Acid Attacks campaign have been trying to meet various lawmakers to ensure that Supreme Court guidelines issued in 2013 to regulate the sale of Acids in retail shops are implemented. The campaigners approached Mr Dhindsa, who is presently Rajya Sabha M.P from Punjab. Punjab has also witnessed many cases of Acid Attacks in the recent past.

Dhindsa was moved after meeting Sonia, an Acid Attack fighter and campaigner with the movement. Sonia was attacked with five litres of acid ten years back. Since then she has been fighting to ensure that no other woman meets the same fate. “The person who attacked me died few months later. But there are many such culprits who are roaming around in country after ruining somebody’s life with Acids. There are many woman who have still not received justice.”

“The larger goal remains that society reaches a point where there is no attack on any woman. The larger goal is to fight against the patriarchal structure which nourishes the idea of attacking a woman with Acids. Until we reach that stage, we need support of the law to ensure there are proper regulations in the country.” shared Ashish Shukla, convenor of Chhanv Foundation, while discussing the issue with Mr Dhindsa. Chhanv Foundation is running the Stop Acid Attacks campaign.

Dhindsa also promised to raise the issue with the Home Minister Rajnath Singh after Delhi elections are over. Dhindsa condemned the acid attacks on women and said that woman’s decision must be respected.

Dhindsa is General Secretory of Shiromani Akali Dal which is part of NDA government in the centre.

This article was first published on LokMarg.com on January 28, 2015
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