A candle light was held at Surrey’s Bear Creek Park last week in memory of women who were murdered or assaulted in different parts of the world.

To mark the International Day of the Girl, the participants gathered at the event organized by Mamta Foundation; a South Asian group established to help destitute and abandoned female children in India. The group denounces female infanticide which is common in the male dominated Indian society.

The participants representing various progressive groups carried placards bearing pictures of Jassi Sidhu, a Maple Ridge woman who was murdered in India in the name of honour for marrying a poor rickshaw puller and of Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani girl who was shot by Taliban for defending the rights of women. A documentary on Malala, who recently received European Union Human Rights award, was also shown at the event.

The speakers denounced all forms of violence against women and resolved to carry on their campaign against gender inequality. Those present included MLA Harry Bains, Mamta Foundation Secretary Makhan Tutt, Fraser Valley Peace Council leader Harjit Daudhria, Banda Singh Bahadur Society leader Ranjeet Singh Khalsa, the Indian rationalist society President Avtar Gill and prominent feminine activists, like Gurbax Deo, Parminder Swaich and Gurpreet Kaur Bains.

Notably, the two South Asian Female MPs from Surrey, Nina Grewal and Jinny Sims were absent.