SHILLONG: After cycling 2700 kilometers, seventeen-year-old Sougaijam Bidyalakshmi Leima from Manipur, arrived in Shillong as part of her ‘peace cycling expedition’ to various North Eastern States to spread the message of ‘stopping violence against women’.
As part of the peace cycling expedition, the young girl has so far travelled to four North Eastern States, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
While addressing newsmen here on Thursday, the young cyclist said that the peace expedition was undertaken with the prime intention of spreading awareness on the growing crimes against women.
“This peace expedition is not a campaign against anybody but to awaken the society as a whole for a better future to all women and children,” Leima said.
Leima is of the view that the Government also needs to play a pro-active role by adopting various measures to prevent violence against women even as suggesting that the Government needs to take stringent action against people outraging the modesty of women.
She felt that crimes of such nature were tarnishing the fabric of the society and the need of the hour is to come together and fight it to ensure that the society is rendered free from such ills.
Leima also said that her cycling tour was to impress upon the government to initiate various programmes on gender sensitization and put such legislation in place to root out the crimes and violence against women completely.
The young cyclist from Manipur will resume her journey by proceeding towards Tripura, Mizoram on Friday. She stated that she would be meeting students from city colleges to highlight the need to protect women rights before her departure.