CHANDIGARH (TIP): When khaps are being criticized for banning girls from wearing jeans and T-shirts, a woman khap leader of Haryana is busy collecting signatures to spread awareness against female foeticide. She has collected signatures of over 35,000 people, mainly youngsters, as part of her save the girl child campaign. An associate professor of Kurukshetra University, Santosh Dahiya, 45, wants to submit one lakh signatures to the President, demanding a curb on crime against women.

She was nominated founder president of women wing of Haryana Sarv Jat Sarv Khap Mahapanchayat in a khap mahapanchayat held in Kurukshetra in 2009. According to Dahiya, the khap mahapanchayat is an umbrella body of 150 khaps of Haryana. Dahiya is also president of Haryana Women Boxing Association. As part of her save the girl child campaign, she approaches youngsters asking them to take an oath against female foeticide. Unfazed by the criticism of khaps by women organizations on the issue of honour killings, Dahiya said these bodies don’t order such crimes. “It is a conspiracy to defame khaps,” she insisted. “When I attended a khap mahapanchayat in 2009, I became convinced with the view point of khap leaders,” she said.