‘I Will Stand and Fight Again, Against What Is Wrong and for What Is Right’: Bilkis Bano

New Delhi: "I will stand and fight again, against what is wrong and for what is right," said Bilkis Bano, who has moved the Supreme Court challenging the remission and release of 11 convicts, who gang-raped her and killed her family members, including her three-old daughter, in 2002.

In a statement, issued on Thursday, December 1, she said, "The decision to once again stand up and knock on the doors of justice was not easy for me. For a long time, after the men who destroyed my entire family and my life were released, I was simply numb. I was paralysed with shock and with fear for my children, my daughters, and above all, paralysed by loss of hope."

"But, the spaces of my silence were filled with other voices; voices of support from different parts of the country that have given me hope in the face of unimaginable despair; and made me feel less alone in my pain. I cannot express in words what this support has meant to me," she added.

Bilkis Bano was 21 years old and five months pregnant when she was gang-raped. Fourteen of her family members including her young daughter were killed in the brutal attack in Gujarat's Dahod district.

Also read: Release of Bilkis Bano Case Convicts: Conflicting Remission Policies Raise Difficult Questions

In her two separate petitions, she has challenged the premature release of the convicts by the Gujarat government on August 15, saying it has "shaken the conscience of society".

She has also sought the review of the Supreme Court’s earlier judgment that allowed the Gujarat government to make a decision on the remission of the convicts.

In May, the top court had said that since the crime was committed in Gujarat, the state of Gujarat was the appropriate government to examine the remission pleas of the convicts

The apex court had overturned Gujarat high court’s earlier ruling that remission pleas must be considered by the state of Maharashtra since the trial was transferred out of Gujarat.

The premature release of convicts on August 15 set off a huge controversy, with political parties and civil society organisations demanding the decision be rolled back.

Days after the convicts were released, Justice U.D. Salvi, the former Bombay high court judge who had convicted them, condemned the move, saying it ‘has set a very bad precedent’.

The convicts, in fact, received a ‘heroic welcome’ amidst fanfare, triggering controversy.

The 11 convicts who were granted premature release are Jaswantbhai Nai, Govindbhai Nai, Shailesh Bhatt, Radhesham Shah, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Kesarbhai Vohania, Pradeep Mordhiya, Bakabhai Vohania, Rajubhai Soni, Mitesh Bhatt, and Ramesh Chandana.

Read the full statement by Bilkis Bano below.

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Bilkis Yakub Rasool’s Statement

December 1, 2022

The decision to once again stand up and knock on the doors of justice was not easy for me. For a long time, after the men who destroyed my entire family and my life were released, I was simply numb.  I was paralysed with shock and with fear for my children, my daughters, and above all, paralysed by loss of hope.

But, the spaces of my silence were filled with other voices; voices of support from different parts of the country that have given me hope in the face of unimaginable despair; and made me feel less alone in my pain. I cannot express in words what this support has meant to me. And how much it has helped rekindle my faith in humanity, renewed my courage and allowed me to believe yet again in the idea of justice.

So, I will stand and fight again, against what is wrong and for what is right. I do this today for myself, for my children, and for women everywhere.

 -Bilkis Bano, Dec 1, 2022

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