Strap: The actress turned activist outrages against the verdict of Bilkis Bano’s gang rape case
“I commend Javed Saab for speaking up and caring. I wish more celebrities would speak up about this injustice, too!”
“I am a rape survivor. And in spite of those things having taken place when I was 14, I still have trauma and nightmares about my plight even in my 40s. This kind of suffering never dissipates”
On August 15, when the entire country celebrated the 75th year of its Independence amid much pomp and splendor, 11 convicts who gang-raped a pregnant Bilkis Bano during the 2002 Gujarat riots were released by the state government. The irony was not lost on its citizens from across the world. What added salt to the wound was the felicitation and garlanding of the convicts at a political outfit’s office. Infuriated voices have been coming out in support of Bilkis Bano since the shock triggered by the verdict on I-Day. One such voice being that of former Bollywood actress turned activist, Somy Ali, who works closely with rape and domestic victims who’ve been rescued through her NGO, No More Tears.
“Garlands and sweets! I am sick to my stomach. What is happening in our society? They killed her three-year-old daughter. The barbarism of raping a pregnant woman itself should be enough to keep them in prison for life, let alone welcome them like they are some real-life heroes.” she fumes, adding, “As someone who has spent the past 15 years fighting to obtain justice for rape victims, I find this beyond abhorrent and blame everyone involved – right from the politicians to the law enforcement.”
Bilkis Bano’s trauma brings back nightmares for Somy, who had opened up about being a victim of rape and child abuse last year. She says, “I am a rape survivor. And in spite of those things having taken place when I was 14, I still have trauma and nightmares about my plight even in my 40s. This kind of suffering never dissipates; one simply has to learn to live with it. While there is no barometer for who suffered less or more, each rape survivor deals with his or her distress in their own way. These deplorable men being released and welcomed is unfathomable to my psyche.”
She adds, “How much pain Bilkis must be enduring right now. This woman has been made to relive her trauma while she was still healing from it. And why is this not getting the same press or people with placards protesting as they did with the Nirbhaya case? The lack of commotion baffles me.”
The activist reveals that even in the US, culprits walk away scot-free if they have money, which goes hand-in-hand with power. “Sadly, this is a universal catastrophe and is not just specific to the US or South East Asia,” says Somy, who has been working towards creating an awareness about the plight of victims of rape and domestic violence. She informs, “Rape victims suffer in every way possible. Even in the US where there is a sexual assault taking place every 68 seconds, one is put on a waiting list to get a rape-kit test, which is a forensic medical examination to collect evidence left behind after the assault. When it comes to rape, there is simply no justice. This has been my experience of working with thousands of rape survivors through my NGO.”
When we ask Somy, what according to her will get Bilkis Bano justice, she replies, “Justice will be when I see these loathsome human beings (they don’t even deserve to be addressed as one) go back to prison.” She concludes by praising writer-poet-lyricist, Javed Akhtar for speaking out against the verdict on the Bilkis Bano case. “I commend Javed Saab for speaking up and caring. I wish more celebrities would speak up about this injustice, too,” she concludes.
