Kerala Governor Arif Muhammad Khan will join a sit in fasting protest on Wednesday to raise awareness on women safety and against dowry harassment in Thiruvananthapuram. The Governor is fasting at the Raj Bhavan from 8 am to 6 pm against violence against women. It is unusual for a governor to fast on such a demand.
As a part of the campaign, Arif Muhammad Khan released a video message and said that dowry is an evil. “Our beloved state of Kerala was in news recently for tragic death due to dowry. It is sad that this spector of dowry continues raise its ugly head in our state which has been globally acclaimed for variable social indicators like literacy and life expectancy. Mahatma Gandhi has said, any young men who makes dowry as a condition to marriage, discredits his education, country and dishonors womanhood”. The “sthreepaksha Keralam” initiative of the Government of Kerala also emphasizes the need to ensure the dignity of our woman by saying no to dowry and related practices, he said. The fast is being organized by the Kerala Gandhi Memorial Fund and other Gandhian organizations. The Governor will also participate in the fasting and prayer yajna held at Thycaud Gandhi Bhavan from 4.30 pm. Arif Mohammad Khan had visited the house of Vismaya who died in connection with dowry torture in Kollam district of Kerala.
