HYDERABAD: Activists of the Telangana Women and Transgender Organisations JAC (WT-JAC), women’s organisations and other social outfits held a protest at Dharna Chowk, Indira Park on Saturday against the remission of life sentences of those convicted for the rape of Bilkis Bano and murder of her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
They demanded that all the 11 convicts should be sent back to jail. They opined that Bilkis Bano was an eyewitness to the communal carnage in Gujarat in 2002 and the government’s decision to release all the convicts on the 75th Independence Day, in fact, making a mockery of women’s independence in the country.
We talk a lot about women empowerment and we have slogans like Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, but the truth is women belonging to minority communities are still not getting justice, they said. Activist Sujatha Surepally said, “Even a trial has not taken place in this case. Women’s rights guaranteed under the Indian Constitution should be protected. We feel that there is political interference in the case and there is bias towards minorities. Every democrat should protest, otherwise cases like these will not be remembered.”
V Sandhya, National Convenor, Progressive Organisation for Women ( POW), said, “On Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about Nari Shakti and on the same day, injustice was being metted out to a woman. These kinds of judgements will make women more insecure. The real Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav will be when women are treated with respect. We demand that the convicts be sent back
to jail.”