This article by Sheeba Aslam Fehmi, Priyanka Singh and Beena Sarwar is published by The Citizen. Here is an excerpt:

With youth activist Sarita Bartaula from Nepal hosting the event, participants vowed to continue the struggle for peace and democracy, forge bonds and build solidarities. This is even more critical given the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic that workers around Southasia and the world continue to wrestle with.

Any threat to democracy puts labour rights at grave risk, as is evident in the violence in the name of religion around the region. In India it is leading to the homes and shops of poor workers being bulldozed in predominantly Muslim neighbourhoods. The assault on the livelihoods of Muslim workers and businesses is well documented.

All this frays already weakened democratic systems and impacts those already vulnerable, pushing them farther to the margins, further affecting their rights and dignity.

Read the full article here.