Agnes Kharshiing is a

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

from

Meghalaya Meghalaya (; "the abode of clouds") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeast India. Its capital is Shillong. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the Assam: the United Khasi Hills an ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. She is the President of the Civil Society Women's Organization (CSWO). Her outspoken advocacy and leadership of

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...

s for women's and communities' rights has been linked to her detainment. She has led sit-ins in protest against government evictions of local communities from

land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands. Earth's land sur ...

. She has spoken out against corporal punishment and bullying in schools. She condemned the appointment of MLA Julius Dorphang, who allegedly raped a 14-year-old girl, as a member of the Assembly Privilege Committee in Meghalaya. She was arrested then released in March 2013 for use of criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging his duty, as well as criminal trespass. She told reporters that as member of a committee on

justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

, formed as part of Meghalaya Legal Service Authority, she was trying to help the parents of a

rape victim Rape is a traumatic experience that affects the victim (survivor) in a physical, psychological, and sociological way. Even though the effects and aftermath of rape differ among victims, individuals tend to suffer from similar issues found withi ...

access a media centre. She protested against the eviction drive conducted by Meghalaya Urban Development Authority, for which she was arrested on 9 November 2013. She was involved in exposing

graft Graft or grafting may refer to: *Graft (politics), a form of political corruption *Graft, Netherlands, a village in the municipality of Graft-De Rijp Science and technology *Graft (surgery), a surgical procedure *Grafting, the joining of plant ti ...

and lack of transparency in child nutrition programs. She advocated for programs supporting

local food Local food is food that is produced within a short distance of where it is consumed, often accompanied by a social structure and supply chain different from the large-scale supermarket Food system, system. Local food (or locavore) movements ...

rather than use of contractors. She organised a rescue mission to Radhamadhab Road - a red light area in Silchar, Assam - to deter the alarming growth in child sex trafficking. Prior to this, she had been interacting with a 16 year old survivor who had escaped from Radhamadhab Road. Fellow activist Angela Rangad said Kharshiing's 2013 arrests were attempts "to suppress any attempt of asking questions and bringing to light largescale illegal deals and land grabs." Kharshiing has not been deterred from activism by detention. She said: “I will continue to fight with them for their rights and will not retreat even if I have to face arrest a thousand times”

References

Indian women's rights activists Indian prisoners and detainees People from Shillong People associated with Shillong Living people Indian women activists Activists from Meghalaya Year of birth missing (living people) {{India-activist-stub