India stood in solidarity with Bilkis Bano and her family as many across the country were on the streets on Saturday protesting against the Gujarat government’s recent decision to free the 11 convicts who were found guilty of gang rape of Bano and the mass murder of her family during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Citizens of states such as Telangana, Karnataka, Punjab, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Maharastra, and New Delhi took to the streets against the unjust decision and questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence.
Even though the protests were made in different languages and dialects, they resonated with a common purpose- Justice for Bilkis Bano.
Karnataka
Hundreds gathered in Freedom Park in Bengaluru demanding a rollback of the remission of the 11 convicts by the Gujurat government on August 15. The protests were called by members of the Bahutva Karnataka.
Taking to Twitter, they wrote, “Bilkis was subjected to sexual violence because she was a Muslim woman. There is silence now because she is a Muslim woman. This is wrong and unacceptable.”
Speaking on the issue, Maitreyi Krishnan, national president advocate of All India Lawyers Association for Justice said, “We are here to protest against the Gujarat government for granting remission to convicts of Bilkis Bano. We are here to support the struggle of Bilkis because what happened there was barbaric, inhumane and against the fundamental values of our constitution. The act of granting remission is completely illegal and unconstitutional.”
Speaking to Siasat.com, Lubna Siraj, national president of the National Women’s Front (NWF) demanded a safe and secure life for Bilkis and her family.
“The right to life guaranteed in Article 21 of the Constitution should be ensured to all citizens of the country without discrimination. It is the misuse of remission policy to save Hindutva criminals,” Siraj added.
Apart from Bengaluru, protests were witnessed in 15 districts such as Gulbarga, YadgiriHassan, Chamrajnagar, Chickmaglur, Ballari, Bidar, and Bijapur to name a few.
Telangana
Protests were held at Makdoom Hall were prominent activists Khalida Parveen, Padmaja Shah and Jhansi Gaddam took part. The protest was organised by the Telangana Women and Transgender Organisation Joint Action Committee.
Discussion ranging from future action plan to avoid such communal unrest to reaching out to politicians of various political parties including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and speaking against the unfair decision, the safety of every woman in the country etc were addressed.
Maharashtra
Women activists of the Thane-Palghar unit of the Nationalist Congress Party on Saturday held a protest against the release of 11 convicts by the Gujarat government in the Bilkis Bano case. The protest was held at Shivaji Square.
Punjab
New Delhi
Kerala
Uttar Pradesh
Tamil Nadu
