Bilkis Bano was 21 when she saw seven members of her family murdered. Among them was her daughter, who was just three years old. Seven other relatives, who she says was also killed, were declared โmissingโ. The woman, five months pregnant, was then gang-raped.
New Delhi: 2002 Gujarat riots rape case survivor Bilkis Bano, has said the release of the 11 rapists has โshakenโ her faith in justice.
In her first reaction since the release two days ago, she hinted at a sense of deep hurt and betrayal. It has left her โnumbโ and โbereft of wordsโ, Bilkis Bano said.
โHow can justice for any woman end like this? I trusted the highest courts in our land. I trusted the system, and I was learning slowly to live with my traumaโฆ My sorrow and my wavering faith is not for myself alone but for every woman who is struggling for justice in courts,โ said the woman, whose fight for justice went on for 18 long years,โ Bilkis Banoโs statement said.
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The statement also hinted at shock at the Gujarat governmentโs move to release the convicts without any consultation with her.
โNo one enquired about my safety and well-being, before taking such a big and unjust decision,โ Bilkis added.
Asking the Gujarat goverment for her right to live without fear she said, โGive me back my right to live without fear and in peace. Please ensure that my family and I are kept safe.โ
Bilkis Bano was 21 when she saw seven members of her family murdered. Among them was her daughter, who was just three years old. Seven other relatives, who she says was also killed, were declared โmissingโ. The woman, five months pregnant, was then gang-raped.
A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Mumbai on January 21, 2008, awarded the 11 to life imprisonment on charges of gang rape and murder of seven members of Bilkis Banoโs family during the 2002 Gujarat riots. Their conviction was later upheld by the Bombay High Court.
โThose who raped a 5-month pregnant woman and killed her 3-year-old daughter were released during โAzadi Ka Amrit Mahotsavโ,โ Congress Mp Rahul Gandhi tweeted in Hindi.
โWhat is the message going out to the women of the country, from those speaking of women empowerment,โ he asked, referring to PM Modiโs Independence Day speech. PM Modi, in his Independence Day speech from Red Fort, had spoken of โnaari shaktiโ and said we must โnot do anything that lowers the dignity of womenโ.
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เคจเคพเคฐเฅ เคถเคเฅเคคเคฟ เคเฅ เคเฅเค เฅ เคฌเคพเคคเฅเค เคเคฐเคจเฅ เคตเคพเคฒเฅ เคฆเฅเคถ เคเฅ เคฎเคนเคฟเคฒเคพเคเค เคเฅ เคเฅเคฏเคพ เคธเคเคฆเฅเคถ เคฆเฅ เคฐเคนเฅ เคนเฅเค?
เคชเฅเคฐเคงเคพเคจเคฎเคเคคเฅเคฐเฅ เคเฅ, เคชเฅเคฐเคพ เคฆเฅเคถ เคเคชเคเฅ เคเคฅเคจเฅ เคเคฐ เคเคฐเคจเฅ เคฎเฅเค เค เคเคคเคฐ เคฆเฅเค เคฐเคนเคพ เคนเฅเฅค
โ Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 17, 2022
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