6 June 2010 Delhi: Campaign Reservation Express is a nation-wide campaign supporting Women’s Reservation Bill that started from Jhansi two weeks ago and has culminated today in New Delhi. Three caravans toured the country by road, taking separate routes and garnering widespread support for the Women’s Reservation Bill that is currently awaiting passage in the Lok Sabha.

The convergence of the three caravans at the Constitution Club today was marked by celebration. The women were greeted with flowers and later awarded trophies and 'Campaign Reservation Express' umbrellas. Members of the caravans shared the diverse messages they had gathered from 60 different villages, towns and cities they visited during the last fortnight.

There was also a short documentary film show to capture the feel of this 20,000 km long journey and to share about the different odds faced by the women during this historic mission.

To ensure that voices of diverse women got through to the public and policy-makers, the caravans largely comprised women from many states of the country. More than half of them were from minority and marginalized sections, who have been struggling against discrimination and for equal citizenship rights.

The Muslim women in the caravans claimed their right to political participation and have denounced statements by certain political and religious groups who have been talking on their behalf, trying to keep them out of the public sphere.

Some of the members of the caravan were Bhanwari Devi — the survivor of gruesome sexual assault and equally shameful decades of litigation, whose case lead to the landmark Vishakha judgement, Mussarat Jahan — the sister of Ishrat Jahan who was killed in an infamous police encounter outside Ahmedabad, Sultana Sheikh and other survivors of the Gujarat carnage of 2002, several Dalit and internally displaced women and young activists from places as remote as Tangdar in Kashmir. The karwans were led by young Anhad activists Mansi Sharma, Seema Duhan, Sania Hashmi and Manisha Trivedi. Annie Raja, General Secretary of the National Federation of Indian Women and Shabnam Hashmi from ANHAD joined the caravans in several destinations.

Distinguished women leaders, noted human rights activists, intellectuals, artists and students from all over the country participated in the event.

Campaign Reservation Express received tremendous support for immediate passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill in its present form in the Lok Sabha during the upcoming Monsoon Session. The caravans even collected 20,000 signatures on especially designed postcards that bear testimony to their success.

An engaging cultural programme was organised featuring performances by groups like Darpana Academy who enacted ‘The Mask’ — a poem-based performance choreographed by Mallika Sarabhai and enacted by Radhika Patel, Charmy Modi and Hina Trivedi. There were more performances by Rozi Roti Adhikar Sangathan, Phagi , SWRC Tilonia, BGVS, Haryana and Disha, Saharanpur. Excerpts from a puppet ballet performance called ‘Giselle ki Kahani’ were enacted by Rea Krishnatraye and Varun Narain. It is the story of a young girl whose dreams get shattered leading her to death and a sense of justice but in a realm beyond life.

Participants also enthralled the audience by their rendition of folk songs that have evolved after years of women’s movement in India.

An exhibition of 10,000 postcards dangling from a roof in the form of a web made of rope at the height of eight feet displayed the will of the people of this country who are demanding the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill in its current form. Media coverage and photographs from various cities were also displayed on designed panels. An exhibition of posters from women movement was displayed as part of the exhibition.

Besides generating pro-reservation support, the Express Campaign has accomplished a larger mission of drawing attention to existing gender disparities in the political spaces of the country and the importance of assertion women’s political rights.

The campaign was flagged off on 20 May 2010 from Jhansi by Annie Raja, Subhashini Ali, President, All India Democratic Women’s Association and Qamar Azad Hashmi, mother of Safdar Hashmi, well-known revolutionary and activist.

Initiated by ANHAD (Act Now for Harmony and Democracy), the Reservation Express Campaign has been endorsed by over 200 women networks, organizations and civil society groups across India.

Young IT professionals Sajith VK, Sreeram Hariharan, Birenjith, Rohit, Rajeev TK, Deepak came forward voluntarily to and set up and run the campaign website. Amrita Nandi and Monobina did the daily reporting. The campaign material was designed by Pervez Rajan and Mridu Mehta.