Tanahun Women Rally for Peace
by Ghanashyam Khadka

December 3, 2004 -(The Kathmandu Post) "No more bloodshed and violence". "Stop killing". "We are suffocating and are fed up with war."

These were the messages in banners and placards that over 10,000 women waved at a peace rally in this small suburb in the western hills.

Middle-age and elderly women from Khairenitar and Dulegouda, irrespective of their religious leaning, jointly organized the rally to exert pressure on the government and the Maoists to resume talks immediately and let the people breathe in a peaceful atmosphere.

The rally, which was organized to protest the brutal killing of their scions by the Maoists and security personnel, was supported by local farmers, teachers, businessmen and other villagers as well. People from across the country have been taking out such rallies denouncing violence, and calling for lasting peace.

The desperate quest for peace by the female members of society could be easily seen on their gloomy faces, and the heart-touching slogans they chanted were enough to prove it.

"Since our sons have been killed everyday, and daughters have become widows, how can we tolerate this war," questions Khim Kumari Bataju, chairperson of Janahit Mothers’ Group, Dulegouda. "Our patience has run out."

The participants of the rally, ranging from Swiss volunteer Kaspar Alfred to six-year-old Sapana Adhikari, also lit candles along the Prithvi Highway at the end of the rally praying for peace. "There is need of such pressure nationwide," Alfred said. "After all, nobody can ignore the voice of the mothers."

A mass meeting was also held at the end of the rally where the organizers univocally called for dialogue between the two warring parties.

Convener of the rally, Krishna Pandit, said, "Maoists and the government should listen to the screams of our wives and children. We want to live without fear."

From: http://www.kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?&nid=24450