In the Indian capital’s Shaheen Bagh neighborhood, beside open sewers and dangerously dangling electricity wires, a group of Muslim women in colorful headscarves sit in resistance to a new citizenship law that has unleashed protests across the country.
For more than a month the women have taken turns maintaining an around the clock sit-in on a highway that passes through their neighborhood. They sing songs of protest and chant anti-government slogans, some cradling babies, others laying down rugs to make space for more people to sit.
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In the Indian capital’s Shaheen Bagh neighborhood, beside open sewers and dangerously dangling electricity wires, a group of Muslim women in colorful headscarves sit in resistance to a new citizenship law that has unleashed protests across the country.
Through numerous police barricades, women trickle in from the winding arterial alleys of Shaheen Bagh with children in hand, as poets and singers take the makeshift stage, drawing rapturous applause.
The women, like demonstrators elsewhere in the country, have been demanding the revocation of the citizenship law approved last month. The law provides a fast-track to naturalization for persecuted religious minorities from some neighboring Islamic countries, but excludes Muslims.
Khatoon and other protesters in Shaheen Bagh view the citizenship law as part of a bigger plan by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist government to implement a nationwide register of citizens, which they fear could lead to the deportation and detention of Muslims.
A common refrain among the women at Shaheen Bagh is that they are there to ensure that the secular India plotted out by independence-era leaders remains for younger generations.
Leaders from Modi’s party have blamed the protests on provocateurs deliberately misleading poor, uneducated people.
In this Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020 photo, volunteers prepare tea for people gathered at the protest site in New Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area, India. Muslim women are transcending the confines of their homes to lay claim to the streets of this nondescript Muslim neighborhood in the Indian capital and slowly transforming it into a nerve center of resistance against a new citizenship law that has unleashed protests across the country. The gathering at Shaheen Bagh started with a handful of women appalled by the violence at a nearby Muslim university during protests against the law on Dec. 15. Since then it has slowly morphed into a nationwide movement, with many women across the country staging their own sit-ins. (AP PhotoAltaf Qadri)
In this Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020 photo, men stand outside while women protesters sit inside a tent as they listen to a speaker at the protest site in New Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area, India. The gathering at Shaheen Bagh started with a handful of women appalled by the violence at a nearby Muslim university during protests against the law on Dec. 15. Since then it has slowly morphed into a nationwide movement, with many women across the country staging their own sit-ins. They sing songs of protest and chant anti-government slogans, some cradling babies, others laying down rugs to make space for more people to sit. (AP PhotoAltaf Qadri)
In this Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020 photo, a Muslim man addresses a crowd of protesters inside a tent at the protest site in New Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area, India. The gathering at Shaheen Bagh started with a handful of women appalled by the violence at a nearby Muslim university during protests against the law on Dec. 15. Since then it has slowly morphed into a nationwide movement, with many women across the country staging their own sit-ins. (AP PhotoAltaf Qadri)
In this Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020 photo, 90-year-old Asma Khatoon, center, tends to a sick fellow protester inside a tent at the protest site in New Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area, India. In this neighborhood, beside open sewers and dangerously dangling electricity wires, a group of Muslim women in colorful headscarves sit in the middle of a street in resistance to a new citizenship law that has unleashed protests across the country. The neighborhood rings with chants of “Inquilab Zindabad", a phrase which translates to “Long live the revolution!” As the night draws closer, women as old as 90 huddle together under warm blankets, falling asleep on cheap mattresses. (AP PhotoAltaf Qadri)
In this Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020 photo, people gather at the protest site in New Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area, India. In this neighborhood, beside open sewers and dangerously dangling electricity wires, a group of Muslim women in colorful headscarves sit in the middle of a street in resistance to a new citizenship law that has unleashed protests across the country. Through numerous police barricades, these women trickle in from the winding arterial alleys of the neighborhood with children in hand, as poets and singers take the makeshift stage, drawing rapturous applause. (AP PhotoAltaf Qadri)
In this Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020 photo, young girls draw sketches near the protest site in New Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area, India. Muslim women are transcending the confines of their homes to lay claim to the streets of this nondescript Muslim neighborhood in the Indian capital and slowly transforming it into a nerve center of resistance against a new citizenship law that has unleashed protests across the country. The women, sitting in the middle of a major highway, have taken turns maintaining an around the clock sit-in for more than a month. They sing songs of protest and chant anti-government slogans, some cradling babies, others laying down rugs to make space for more people to sit. (AP PhotoAltaf Qadri)
In this Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020 photo, a young boy perched on the shoulders of his father shouts slogans near the protest site in New Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area, India. Muslim women are transcending the confines of their homes to lay claim to the streets of this nondescript Muslim neighborhood in the Indian capital and slowly transforming it into a nerve center of resistance against a new citizenship law that has unleashed protests across the country. The gathering at Shaheen Bagh started with a handful of women appalled by the violence at a nearby Muslim university during protests against the law on Dec. 15. Since then it has slowly morphed into a nationwide movement, with many women across the country staging their own sit-ins. (AP PhotoAltaf Qadri)
In this Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020 photo, volunteers keep themselves warm around a bonfire as they man a check-point near the protest site in New Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area, India. Muslim women are transcending the confines of their homes to lay claim to the streets of this nondescript Muslim neighborhood in the Indian capital and slowly transforming it into a nerve center of resistance against a new citizenship law that has unleashed protests across the country. The gathering at Shaheen Bagh started with a handful of women appalled by the violence at a nearby Muslim university during protests against the law on Dec. 15. Since then it has slowly morphed into a nationwide movement, with many women across the country staging their own sit-ins. (AP PhotoAltaf Qadri)
In this Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020 photo, a young boy shouts slogans inside a tent full of protesters in New Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area, India. Muslim women are transcending the confines of their homes to lay claim to the streets of this nondescript Muslim neighborhood in the Indian capital and slowly transforming it into a nerve center of resistance against a new citizenship law that has unleashed protests across the country. The gathering at Shaheen Bagh started with a handful of women appalled by the violence at a nearby Muslim university during protests against the law on Dec. 15. Since then it has slowly morphed into a nationwide movement, with many women across the country staging their own sit-ins. (AP PhotoAltaf Qadri)
In this early Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020 photo, volunteers keep themselves warm around a bonfire as they man a check-post near the protest site in New Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area, India. Muslim women are transcending the confines of their homes to lay claim to the streets of this nondescript Muslim neighborhood in the Indian capital and slowly transforming it into a nerve center of resistance against a new citizenship law that has unleashed protests across the country. The gathering at Shaheen Bagh started with a handful of women appalled by the violence at a nearby Muslim university during protests against the law on Dec. 15. Since then it has slowly morphed into a nationwide movement, with many women across the country staging their own sit-ins. (AP PhotoAltaf Qadri)
In this Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020 photo, people hold placards as they sit near the protest site in New Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area, India. Muslim women are transcending the confines of their homes to lay claim to the streets of this nondescript Muslim neighborhood in the Indian capital and slowly transforming it into a nerve center of resistance against a new citizenship law that has unleashed protests across the country. The gathering at Shaheen Bagh started with a handful of women appalled by the violence at a nearby Muslim university during protests against the law on Dec. 15. Since then it has slowly morphed into a nationwide movement, with many women across the country staging their own sit-ins. (AP PhotoAltaf Qadri)t to the secular fabric of Indian society. (AP PhotoAltaf Qadri)
The movement has slowly spread nationwide, with many women across the country staging their own sit-ins.
In this Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020 photo, an Indian man takes a photograph of an art installation of the map of India at the protest site in Shaheen Bagh area, in New Delhi, India. Muslim women are transcending the confines of their homes to lay claim to the streets of this nondescript Muslim neighborhood in the Indian capital and slowly transforming it into a nerve center of resistance against a new citizenship law that has unleashed protests across the country. The law provides a fast-track to naturalization for persecuted religious minorities from some neighboring Islamic countries, but excludes Muslims. (AP PhotoAltaf Qadri)
Through numerous police barricades, women trickle in from the winding arterial alleys of Shaheen Bagh with children in hand, as poets and singers take the makeshift stage, drawing rapturous applause.
The neighborhood rings with chants of “Inquilab Zindabad," which means “long live the revolution!”
As night draws closer, women as old as 90 huddle together under warm blankets, falling asleep on cheap mattresses.
In this Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020 photo, a young girl waves the Indian national flag as she shouts slogans at a protest site at Shaheen Bagh, in New Delhi, India. Muslim women are transcending the confines of their homes to lay claim to the streets of this nondescript Muslim neighborhood in the Indian capital and slowly transforming it into a nerve center of resistance against a new citizenship law that has unleashed protests across the country. The neighborhood rings with chants of “Inquilab Zindabad", a phrase which translates to “Long live the revolution!” (AP PhotoAltaf Qadri)
The women, like demonstrators elsewhere in the country, have been demanding the revocation of the citizenship law approved last month. The law provides a fast-track to naturalization for persecuted religious minorities from some neighboring Islamic countries, but excludes Muslims.
Nationwide protests have brought tens of thousands of people from different faiths and backgrounds together, in part because the law is seen by critics as part of a larger threat to the secular fabric of Indian society.
“Someone had to tell the government that their black laws won’t be accepted. So, as mothers, we decided to protest,” said Najma Khatoon, 62.
In this Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020 photo, women protesters listen to a speaker inside a tent at the protest site in New Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area, India. Muslim women are transcending the confines of their homes to lay claim to the streets of this nondescript Muslim neighborhood in the Indian capital and slowly transforming it into a nerve center of resistance against a new citizenship law that has unleashed protests across the country. The women, sitting in the middle of a major highway, have taken turns maintaining an around the clock sit-in for more than a month. They sing songs of protest and chant anti-government slogans, some cradling babies, others laying down rugs to make space for more people to sit. (AP PhotoAltaf Qadri)
Khatoon and other protesters in Shaheen Bagh view the citizenship law as part of a bigger plan by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist government to implement a nationwide register of citizens, which they fear could lead to the deportation and detention of Muslims.
Modi and other leaders of his Bharatiya Janata Party have repeatedly said Indian citizens won’t be affected by the new law, and that if a nationwide register is ever conducted, there will be no religion column.
The gathering at Shaheen Bagh started with a handful of women appalled by the violence at a nearby Muslim university during protests against the law on Dec. 15.
In this Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020 photo, a Muslim man stands in shackles next to a mock detention camp at a protest site in New Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area, India. Muslim women are transcending the confines of their homes to lay claim to the streets of this nondescript Muslim neighborhood in the Indian capital and slowly transforming it into a nerve center of resistance against a new citizenship law that has unleashed protests across the country. The space is decorated with art and installations — from a mock detention camp to a mini replica of India Gate, Delhi’s famous World War I monument, inscribed not with the names of soldiers but of those killed in the nationwide protests. (AP PhotoAltaf Qadri)
A common refrain among the women at Shaheen Bagh is that they are there to ensure that the secular India plotted out by independence-era leaders remains for younger generations.
A makeshift library houses people who read about the constitution. The space is decorated with art and installations — from a mock detention camp to a mini replica of India Gate, Delhi’s famous World War I monument, inscribed not with the names of soldiers but of those killed in the nationwide protests.
What would halt the protests — short of a revocation of the law by the Supreme Court, where it has been challenged in nearly 60 petitions — is unclear. But there is no indication the women will up and leave anytime soon.
In this Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020 photo, women protesters share a quilt as they listen to a speaker inside a tent at the protest site in New Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area, India. The gathering at Shaheen Bagh started with a handful of women appalled by the violence at a nearby Muslim university during protests against the law on Dec. 15. Since then it has slowly morphed into a nationwide movement, with many women across the country staging their own sit-ins. They sing songs of protest and chant anti-government slogans, some cradling babies, others laying down rugs to make space for more people to sit. (AP PhotoAltaf Qadri)
Leaders from Modi’s party have blamed the protests on provocateurs deliberately misleading poor, uneducated people.
The women braving unusually cold winter nights seem undeterred.
In this Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020 photo, a Muslim woman addresses a crowd of protesters inside a tent at the protest site in New Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area, India. Muslim women are transcending the confines of their homes to lay claim to the streets of this nondescript Muslim neighborhood in the Indian capital and slowly transforming it into a nerve center of resistance against a new citizenship law that has unleashed protests across the country. The law provides a fast-track to naturalization for persecuted religious minorities from some neighboring Islamic countries, but excludes Muslims. (AP PhotoAltaf Qadri)
In this Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020 photo, volunteers prepare tea for people gathered at the protest site in New Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area, India. Muslim women are transcending the confines of their homes to lay claim to the streets of this nondescript Muslim neighborhood in the Indian capital and slowly transforming it into a nerve center of resistance against a new citizenship law that has unleashed protests across the country. The gathering at Shaheen Bagh started with a handful of women appalled by the violence at a nearby Muslim university during protests against the law on Dec. 15. Since then it has slowly morphed into a nationwide movement, with many women across the country staging their own sit-ins. (AP PhotoAltaf Qadri)
In this Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020 photo, men stand outside while women protesters sit inside a tent as they listen to a speaker at the protest site in New Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area, India. The gathering at Shaheen Bagh started with a handful of women appalled by the violence at a nearby Muslim university during protests against the law on Dec. 15. Since then it has slowly morphed into a nationwide movement, with many women across the country staging their own sit-ins. They sing songs of protest and chant anti-government slogans, some cradling babies, others laying down rugs to make space for more people to sit. (AP PhotoAltaf Qadri)
In this Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020 photo, a Muslim man addresses a crowd of protesters inside a tent at the protest site in New Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area, India. The gathering at Shaheen Bagh started with a handful of women appalled by the violence at a nearby Muslim university during protests against the law on Dec. 15. Since then it has slowly morphed into a nationwide movement, with many women across the country staging their own sit-ins. (AP PhotoAltaf Qadri)
In this Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020 photo, 90-year-old Asma Khatoon, center, tends to a sick fellow protester inside a tent at the protest site in New Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area, India. In this neighborhood, beside open sewers and dangerously dangling electricity wires, a group of Muslim women in colorful headscarves sit in the middle of a street in resistance to a new citizenship law that has unleashed protests across the country. The neighborhood rings with chants of “Inquilab Zindabad", a phrase which translates to “Long live the revolution!” As the night draws closer, women as old as 90 huddle together under warm blankets, falling asleep on cheap mattresses. (AP PhotoAltaf Qadri)
In this Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020 photo, people gather at the protest site in New Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area, India. In this neighborhood, beside open sewers and dangerously dangling electricity wires, a group of Muslim women in colorful headscarves sit in the middle of a street in resistance to a new citizenship law that has unleashed protests across the country. Through numerous police barricades, these women trickle in from the winding arterial alleys of the neighborhood with children in hand, as poets and singers take the makeshift stage, drawing rapturous applause. (AP PhotoAltaf Qadri)
In this Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020 photo, young girls draw sketches near the protest site in New Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area, India. Muslim women are transcending the confines of their homes to lay claim to the streets of this nondescript Muslim neighborhood in the Indian capital and slowly transforming it into a nerve center of resistance against a new citizenship law that has unleashed protests across the country. The women, sitting in the middle of a major highway, have taken turns maintaining an around the clock sit-in for more than a month. They sing songs of protest and chant anti-government slogans, some cradling babies, others laying down rugs to make space for more people to sit. (AP PhotoAltaf Qadri)
In this Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020 photo, a young boy perched on the shoulders of his father shouts slogans near the protest site in New Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area, India. Muslim women are transcending the confines of their homes to lay claim to the streets of this nondescript Muslim neighborhood in the Indian capital and slowly transforming it into a nerve center of resistance against a new citizenship law that has unleashed protests across the country. The gathering at Shaheen Bagh started with a handful of women appalled by the violence at a nearby Muslim university during protests against the law on Dec. 15. Since then it has slowly morphed into a nationwide movement, with many women across the country staging their own sit-ins. (AP PhotoAltaf Qadri)
In this Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020 photo, volunteers keep themselves warm around a bonfire as they man a check-point near the protest site in New Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area, India. Muslim women are transcending the confines of their homes to lay claim to the streets of this nondescript Muslim neighborhood in the Indian capital and slowly transforming it into a nerve center of resistance against a new citizenship law that has unleashed protests across the country. The gathering at Shaheen Bagh started with a handful of women appalled by the violence at a nearby Muslim university during protests against the law on Dec. 15. Since then it has slowly morphed into a nationwide movement, with many women across the country staging their own sit-ins. (AP PhotoAltaf Qadri)
In this Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020 photo, a young boy shouts slogans inside a tent full of protesters in New Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area, India. Muslim women are transcending the confines of their homes to lay claim to the streets of this nondescript Muslim neighborhood in the Indian capital and slowly transforming it into a nerve center of resistance against a new citizenship law that has unleashed protests across the country. The gathering at Shaheen Bagh started with a handful of women appalled by the violence at a nearby Muslim university during protests against the law on Dec. 15. Since then it has slowly morphed into a nationwide movement, with many women across the country staging their own sit-ins. (AP PhotoAltaf Qadri)
In this early Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020 photo, volunteers keep themselves warm around a bonfire as they man a check-post near the protest site in New Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area, India. Muslim women are transcending the confines of their homes to lay claim to the streets of this nondescript Muslim neighborhood in the Indian capital and slowly transforming it into a nerve center of resistance against a new citizenship law that has unleashed protests across the country. The gathering at Shaheen Bagh started with a handful of women appalled by the violence at a nearby Muslim university during protests against the law on Dec. 15. Since then it has slowly morphed into a nationwide movement, with many women across the country staging their own sit-ins. (AP PhotoAltaf Qadri)
In this Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020 photo, people hold placards as they sit near the protest site in New Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area, India. Muslim women are transcending the confines of their homes to lay claim to the streets of this nondescript Muslim neighborhood in the Indian capital and slowly transforming it into a nerve center of resistance against a new citizenship law that has unleashed protests across the country. The gathering at Shaheen Bagh started with a handful of women appalled by the violence at a nearby Muslim university during protests against the law on Dec. 15. Since then it has slowly morphed into a nationwide movement, with many women across the country staging their own sit-ins. (AP PhotoAltaf Qadri)t to the secular fabric of Indian society. (AP PhotoAltaf Qadri)