Need to wage war against rape, says Kailash Satyarthi as 35-day 'Bharat yatra' reaches Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: As the 35-day Bharat Yatra launched by Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi reached Hyderabad on Thursday , hundreds of supporters joined the one-km march that was flagged off from the Moazzam Jahi market. The city is among the 66 destinations that the march is expected to cover.

The yatra, launched in Kanyakumari on September 11, is part of the `Surakshit Bachpan-Surakshit Bharat' campaign aimed at protesting against child rape and sexual abuse. Speaking about the threeyear campaign,

Satyarthi

stressed the importance of increasing awareness about reporting of cases of child sexu al abuse and protection of victims and witnesses during court trials.

“The spirit shown by Hyderabad, in terms of pledging their support to and joining the Bharat Yatra to make India safe for our children is what is needed across the country to combat this growing menace.The people gathered here have come to change this nation, to make India safe. You have come here to wage a war on rape, on sexual abuse, on child trafficking and we will win this war. The country's youngest state, Telangana must lead the way in protecting the youngest citizens of the country, our children,“ he said while addressing the massive gathe ring at Exhibition Grounds at Nampally , where the Hyderabad leg of the march culminated.

Satyarthi also stressed the importance of strengthening institutional response, including medical health and compensation to victims, and the need to increase conviction of child sexual abuse offenders in a time-bound manner across the country . “By keeping quiet, you are letting the perpetrators roam free without any guilt or punishment. Your silence is an encouragement to them to go down this heinous path,“ the Nobel laureate added.

Rajya Sabha

MP Keshav

Rao, who was present at the event, also called for increased focus on child protection in the country . “We need action now.Child protection is a process.There is a problem that we are not able to solve in spite all of all the stringent laws in place to protect child rights. The problem is that society has not changed,“ said Rao.

The yatra will draw to a close on October 16 at New Delhi after covering more than 11,000 km across 22 states. Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Guwahati, Bhopal, Jaipur and Srinagar are a few key cities that the rally will be covering.

Breakfast meeting at Assembly

Kailash Satyarthi was hosted for breakfast by Telangana Assembly speaker Madhusudana Chary and legislative council chairman Swamy Goud at the Assembly on Thursday. Deputy CMs Mahmood Ali and Kadiam Srihari, home minister

Nayani Narasimha Reddy

, assembly deputy speaker

Padma Devender Reddy

, TRS MP K Keshava Rao were among those who attended the meeting.

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