Shaheen Bagh, New Delhi has been establishing itself as the nationwide symbol of protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR). Amongst protests nationwide, Shaheen Bagh is unique in that it is organized and run by Muslim women. As soon as you enter, you can see the main tent area of protest is a space filled with women sitting, sloganeering, surrounded by posters and signage, expressing their dissent with these policies. Men are allowed to stand and protest outside the tent area and they occasionally walk in as volunteers, laying down mats for sitting, cleaning the protest area, distributing chai, water, and food.

Shaheen Bagh has transformed the structure of a protest in many ways. But one of the most striking transformations is the presence of children everywhere. Kids of all ages can be seen there – young babies, barely a month old, to teenagers running back to the protest after school – all join their mothers and female relatives.

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Many women who spoke to Twocircles.net expressed that they felt their children were a crucial part of the protest at Shaheen Bagh. They were there to not only to accompany their mothers as they sat in protest. They weren’t there just to be watched over. Instead, children had their own powerful and vibrant protest presence. They were there volunteering, giving speeches, raising slogans, singing songs, reciting poems, making protest signs, drawing and painting, and performing plays.

Many mothers encouraged us to document the participation of their children in this revolutionary moment. Twocircles.net does so in this photo series with contributions from Sanghapali Aruna, Mariya Salim, and Ira Anbazhagan.