On the third day of the protest dharna by the national women’s organizations including AIDWA, AIDMAM, JMS Delhi, YWCA, CBCI Women, GOS, Saheli, Prabhat Tara, Himmat, NFIW, BGVS Samata, etc. extended support to rape survivors , and resolved to carry the fight for justice forward.
Women’s representatives along with the survivors and their families met the Home Minister Shinde and demanded that the government ensure accountability and all the police officials who have not been doing their duty must be punished. The Home Minister told the representatives that he would speak with the state governments regarding the cases.
Brinda Karat, leader of the women’s movement and Ex Rajya Sabha (MP) said on the basis of the cases we have been hearing here for three days, it has become clear that merely saying that rapists should be hanged is not enough. We demand the government make a comprehensive policy to provide rehabilitation for the victims and families. It is very unfortunate that the Home Minister did not make any positive assurances to the victims today. We want the government to take full responsibility for the children of working class mothers and ensure their safety.
SudhaSundararaman, General Secretary, AIDWA welcomed the statement of Supreme Court which took a serious note of the so called cultural organizations like khap panchayats who try to impose ban on women on using mobile phones etc.
Ayesha from BGVS mentioned that it was very important that the issues around rehabilitation of rape victims were discussed as it would provide relief to the victims who have to fight a, long struggle to get justice.
Neelima Dahiya, retd. professor, MDU, Rohtak, said she was saddened by the fact that even the basic rights of women have yet not been given to them. And our energies are still being invested in fighting for attaining these basic rights.
Kirti Singh, lawyer, Supreme Court said after hearing the cases here it looked like there was no rule of law in Haryana and Delhi. In each of these cases it was visible that money has been paid to the police to dilute the cases. The Haryana government has already come up with the scheme for rehabilitation but there is no implementation. She said the government must make provisions to provide assistance to the victim for proper shelter, medical aid, counselling,
Dr Brijesh and Moloyshree Hashmi from Jan Natya Manch extended their support to the women’s organizations and read out several poems.
Savitha Malik, secretary, Haryana AIDWA said that in all the cases the organization has been providing assistance in, it has been noted that there was extreme insensitivity being shown at the level of the police and government doctors who are invariable trying to destroy the evidence and make their fight for justice even more difficult. Such people need to be held accountable for their lapses.
Jagmati Sangwan, vice-president, AIDWA said most of the survivors of rape in Haryana are from extremely poor backgrounds and unfortunately the fight for justice costs not just physical and social hardship but also a lot of money from the first day of the incident.
Com Inderjeet, Secretary CPIM Haryana, spoke about the case where a girl was gang-raped and when her mother protested she too was not only gang-raped but murdered. While outrageous crimes like dowry death are increasing in number we don’t see as many people on the streets. And when women’s organizations go on the streets the police gets violent. Women must assert themselves rather than be submissive.
A singing squad from Gurgaon sang, “Women of this country will no longer bear the oppression and injustice.” Vimal Gautam, a young JWP member recited a poem.
Padmini from JWP, lamented about police inaction and apathy in case after case – in the Nithari case of rape and murder of a young girl, and in the recent gang-rape in NOIDA. We shall continue our struggle. She demanded counselling for the victim and her family.
Richpal from NFIW said there are many cases that do not come to light as women are intimidated. Religious gurus are far from sympathetic to women. The laws are neither adequate nor are they implemented in right earnest. She said women are being commodified as a result of this government’s economic policies.
Cases:
Place: Sultanpuri, Delhi
Asha (Name Changed)
Raped by her landlord. Was living in the house for ten months when the landlord told me to lock the gate outside, when she went to lock up he forced her inside his house and raped her. Now the accused is under arrest but there are a lot of threats to the victim and her daughter.
Place: Jind, Roop Nagar colony
Age of victim: 4 years old
The victim was abducted and raped. When the victim was rushed to the police station, the police officials washed her in cold water to destroy the evidence. No medical assistance was provided to the victim in the government hospital. While the victim was still bleeding profusely she was taken to a private hospital by her parents. Eventually pressure was build up on the police and FIR was registered. police also tried to warn the private hospital against treating the victim. In this case police played a very negative role. No government assistance has been provided to the family yet while the family has spent lacks of rupees on treatment of the child. The child is still under mental and physical trauma.
Place: Dabra, Hissar (Haryana)
Date: 19th September, 2012
Twlth class student while returning from school , 12 boys from the same village abducted her and made MMS of the incident. After days of the incident she told her parents about it. As the family belongs to the dalit community, they thought that there was no hope of any justice. Meanwhile, the MMS was released on the internet by the accused. In such scenario the father of the victim committed suicide. The mother and daughter are living under constant threat in police protection.
Place: NOIDA
Case details: The girl was gang raped and her body was kept in the morgue without even informing the family. After days the family saw the body. The police officials kept threatening the family of the victim against the consequences if they take the case forward. The mother of the victim is scared of retaliation. She is still receiving threats from the accused through police. The family has not received any permanent assistance other than some money.
Place : Kalsi, Karnal
3 september, 2012
Dalit family. Three people abducted the girl and raped her. The girl did not tell anyone in the family. She was going to school when she was abducted and raped in the car. Later she was thrown next to her village. One woman from the same village, who was involved with the rapists tried to destroy the evidence by changing the victim’s clothes. Later the mother of the girl was also raped. The accused were arrested after two months of the incident. The father of the victim is scared for his life.
