This Children’s Day residents of Mumbra were greeted with an unusual sight, that of school girls with their pink cycles, vying for space along side the rickshaws. These girls who had been given cycles by the Thane Municipal Corporation in the 8th std to promote girls’ education were trained by Parcham, an NGO over the last one week to ride the cycles in preparation of a rally on Children’s Day.
The rally with the theme of empowerment of girls highlighted three key issues – their right to education, right to safety and right to recreation.
M.L.A Mr. Jitendra Awhad and the Hon. Municipal Commissioner of Thane Municipal Corporation, Mr. Aseem Gupta, flagged off the rally at 10.30 am from Mumbra station. In their speeches, the Hon. Municipal Commissioner mentioned a ground has been reserved for girls for sports in Mumbra. He urged girls to shed their inhibitions and to start cycling daily to school. He assured them of his support in case they faced any problems in being able to cycle on the streets. Mr. Jitendra Awhad said that Mumbra is witnessing a revolution with this initiative. He proposed to the Commissioner to make roads safer for girls to be able to use the cycles, with one part of the road closed one day a month where people would cycle, thereby reducing pollution.
Saba Parveen, one of the trainers says that many of the girls did not know cycling at the start of the week, yet they were determined to learn and the massive number of 150 girls is reflective of their enthusiasm and determination. Salma, another volunteer who was also one of the trainers says that the girls are enthusiastic but need support of the parents as well as the teachers for the girls to exercise their rights.
The rally ended at Kausa Talao amid sloganeering and leafleting by volunteers who had come to support the initiative. Each participant in the rally will be given a certificate of participation by the Thane Municipal Corporation.
For more information please contact Sabah Khan : 9870786082
Saba Parveen: 8655475743
Please find attached photos of the rally. We hope you will publish this news in your esteemed newspaper and support the empowerment of girls.
In solidarity,
Sabah Khan
for Parcham
Leave a Reply