Outrage in India as 11 men convicted of rape and murders in Gujarat violence walk free

Warning: This story contains recollections of sexual violence and abuse.

The bitter irony was not lost on Bilkis Bano, who watched as the group of men who raped her 20 years ago were released from prison by a state government in western India– the same day that in an independence day commemoration speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed for greater respect toward women.

Bano was 21 when she was attacked by a violent Hindu mob in the 2002 anti-Muslim riots in the state of Gujarat. The 11 men convicted of gang raping her when she was 21 and pregnant, and murdering 14 members of her family, walked free last week.

“How can justice for any woman end like this?” Bano asked in a statement released by her lawyer. “The release of these convicts has taken from me my peace and shaken my faith in justice.”

A petition challenging their release has been accepted by India’s top court and may come up for a hearing this week as calls for ‘Justice For Bilkis’ grow louder in India.

Bano’s attackers were released as India also marks 10 years since another heinous sex crime: the brutal gang rape of a young woman on a bus in New Delhi that sparked nationwide protests and led to stricter laws on sexual violence. Yet, according to official government data released in 2020, a woman is raped every 15 minutes in India. Bano’s case is particularly striking as it reflects not only the grim situation for women, but also the rising levels of anti-minority discrimination in India.

The attack against Bano, a Muslim woman, was one of the most horrific episodes of the sectarian violence that began after Muslim Indians were accused of starting a train fire that killed nearly 60 Hindu pilgrims in 2002. An estimated 800 Muslims were killed in retaliatory violence, according to official government reports. Modi was then the chief minister of Gujarat state and his government was accused of not doing enough to stop the killings. Following the riots, the United States imposed a travel ban on Modi under a federal law that prohibits foreigners who have committed “severe violations of religious freedom” from entering the country. The ban was lifted only after he was elected prime minister of India in 2014.

Amid the 2002 violence, sword-wielding men raped Bano and her mother multiple times. She was made to watch as her 3-year-old daughter and 13 other relatives were killed. In 2008, after a long legal battle, the 11 men involved in the attack were convicted and sentenced to life in prison. On Wednesday, they walked free after their application for a “remission” of their sentence was approved by the state government.

“The trauma of the past 20 years washed over me again,” Bano said about their release. “I was bereft of words. I am still numb.”

Around 6,000 civil rights activists, writers, filmmakers and journalists have written to India’s Supreme Court with pleas to revoke the early release of Bano’s rapists.

“We urge women in India to break their silence, to go to courts. But today, so many are wondering, what’s the point?” said journalist Barkha Dutt, who has covered the Bano case since the beginning. “At that time, I was young, bewildered, overwhelmed and angry. Twenty years later, I am even angrier. What message is this sending to India’s women?”

Bano also said that she sees her grief as a collective call to action. “My sorrow and my wavering faith is not for myself alone but for every woman who is struggling for justice in courts.”

The release of her attackers came with no prior notice.

“We learnt about it on the news. Neither Bilkis, nor her legal team were notified about the decision,” said Shobha Gupta, Bano’s lawyer. “The kind of exceptional violence which was caused is beyond imagination. This was a case which was 100% unfit for any sort of clemency or early release.”

Impartiality called into question

In India, life sentences generally last until the death of those imprisoned, but convicts are eligible to apply for a remission after spending 14 years in prison. The latest federal policy disallows those convicted of serious crimes, including rape and murder, from seeking an early release. But Bano’s attackers were released under a 1991 policy that was in effect at the time of their conviction, when no such restrictions were in place.

Questions have been raised about the impartiality of the decision. Five of the 10 members of the review panel that recommended their release are affiliated with Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is currently in power both in the state of Gujarat and at the federal level. C.K. Raulji, a BJP lawmaker who sat on the panel, told Indian media outlet MoJo Story that the convicts are “Brahmins” — upper-caste Hindu — and had “good values.”

“Their family’s activity was very good; they are Brahmin people,” Raulji said, referring to their privileged caste. “And as it is with Brahmins, their values were also very good.”

“His remarks conclusively close the debate on whether there was any intent to rehabilitate the convicts. Reformation is not the intent here. What we are seeing is the worst sort of impunity,” said Dutt, who is the founder of MoJo Story. Despite widespread outrage by civil society and opposition leaders, there’s been no official statement released by the government.

Relatives of Bano’s attackers and members of Hindu nationalist groups greeted the men with sweets as they came out of prison and touched their feet as a mark of respect. The scene was reminiscent of an episode in 2018 when eight men convicted of anti-Muslim hate crimes were honored with garlands by a sitting BJP cabinet minister.

Discrimination and hate crimes against India’s Muslims have increased sharply in the years since Modi’s Hindu-right government came to power in 2014. Arrests of Muslim journalists and activists have become common in India. Hindu nationalist leaders with ties to the BJP have made open calls for genocide of India’s Muslims. Even a Hindu monk issued rape threats to Muslim women; the accused in both instances have been released from jail on bail. But a Muslim fact-checker, Mohammed Zubair, who exposed these events was arrested and jailed under multiple charges ranging from ‘hurting religious sentiments’ to criminal conspiracy. Zubair was released only after Supreme Court’s intervention. In June, an activist who has campaigned for justice for the victims of the Gujarat violence – Teesta Setalvad – was arrested on charges of conspiracy. Human rights activists warn that Bano’s case is yet another setback in a series of anti-Muslim policies and practices adopted by the BJP-led government.

“The BJP in India represents a certain mindset, which suggests that not only is it OK to do this to other Indians of a different community and a different faith, but if you should do this, we will have your back and we will be able to protect you,” said Aakar Patel, former chief of Amnesty International India.

Bano is fearful of her safety. Those who snatched away her peace and so much of her life two decades ago have returned to live in the same village as she.

“Please undo this harm. Give me back my right to live without fear and in peace,” she pleaded in a recent statement.