Urgent Appeal Case : The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received very disturbing information regarding the assault on five women human rights defenders working with Sahjani Shiksha Kendra (SSK) in Lalitpur, Uttar Pradesh. The women, belonging to the Dalit and backward communities, were physically and verbally assaulted while inaugurating an adult literacy centre for Dalit women. The project is supported by Nirantar, a prominent voluntary organization working in the field of education. They were assaulted in the village by a locally powerful man named Sahib Singh Yadav. Even more disturbing is the fact that the perpetrator threatened them with sexual assault and abused them on the basis of caste, a practice declared illegal by the Indian constitution. SSK and Nirantar have been working in Lalitpur since 2002, for the empowerment of Dalit and Adivasi women and girls through literacy and educational interventions. SSK is the only women-headed organization in the district, staffed primarily with Dalit and BC women in Lalitpur, working with nearly 3000 Dalit and Adivasi women. Read More...

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