Carley
04-26-2002, 02:58 PM
"A six-member team of women from Delhi, Bangalore, Tamil Nadu and Ahmedabad undertook a five-day fact-finding mission from March 27 – March 31, 2002, to assess the impact of the continuing violence on minority women in Gujarat."
"Main Findings:
~ The pattern of violence does not indicate “spontaneous” action. There was pre-planning, organization, and precision in the targeting.
~ There is compelling evidence of sexual violence against women. These crimes against women have been grossly underreported and the exact extent of these crimes – in rural and urban areas - demands further investigation. Among the women surviving in relief camps, are many who have suffered the most bestial forms of sexual violence – including rape, gang rape, mass rape, stripping, insertion of objects into their body, stripping, molestations. A majority of rape victims have been burnt alive.
~ There is evidence of State and Police complicity in perpetuating crimes against women. No effort was made to protect women. No Mahila Police was deployed. State and Police complicity in these crimes is continuing, as women survivors continue to be denied the right to file FIRs. There is no existing institutional mechanism in Gujarat through which women can seek justice.
~ The impact on women has been physical, economic and psychological. On all three fronts there is no evidence of State efforts to help them.
~ The state of the relief camps, as mothers struggle to keep their children alive in the most appalling physical conditions, is indicative of the continued abdication of the State’s responsibilities.
~ Rural women have been affected by communal violence on this scale for the first time. There is a need for further investigation into the role played by particular castes/communities in rural Gujarat in unleashing violence.
~ There is evidence that the current carnage was preceded by an escalation of tension and build-up by the VHP and the Bajrang Dal.
~ There is an alarming trend towards ghettoisation of the Muslim community in rural areas for the first time.
~ Sections of the Gujarati vernacular press played a dangerous and criminal role in promoting the violence, particularly in provoking sexual violence against women. "
The entire report can be found here:
http://203.199.93.7/today/TheSurvivorsSpeakX.html.htm
If you can, make time to read it.
Pictures here: http://gujarat.port5.com/images/
"Main Findings:
~ The pattern of violence does not indicate “spontaneous” action. There was pre-planning, organization, and precision in the targeting.
~ There is compelling evidence of sexual violence against women. These crimes against women have been grossly underreported and the exact extent of these crimes – in rural and urban areas - demands further investigation. Among the women surviving in relief camps, are many who have suffered the most bestial forms of sexual violence – including rape, gang rape, mass rape, stripping, insertion of objects into their body, stripping, molestations. A majority of rape victims have been burnt alive.
~ There is evidence of State and Police complicity in perpetuating crimes against women. No effort was made to protect women. No Mahila Police was deployed. State and Police complicity in these crimes is continuing, as women survivors continue to be denied the right to file FIRs. There is no existing institutional mechanism in Gujarat through which women can seek justice.
~ The impact on women has been physical, economic and psychological. On all three fronts there is no evidence of State efforts to help them.
~ The state of the relief camps, as mothers struggle to keep their children alive in the most appalling physical conditions, is indicative of the continued abdication of the State’s responsibilities.
~ Rural women have been affected by communal violence on this scale for the first time. There is a need for further investigation into the role played by particular castes/communities in rural Gujarat in unleashing violence.
~ There is evidence that the current carnage was preceded by an escalation of tension and build-up by the VHP and the Bajrang Dal.
~ There is an alarming trend towards ghettoisation of the Muslim community in rural areas for the first time.
~ Sections of the Gujarati vernacular press played a dangerous and criminal role in promoting the violence, particularly in provoking sexual violence against women. "
The entire report can be found here:
http://203.199.93.7/today/TheSurvivorsSpeakX.html.htm
If you can, make time to read it.
Pictures here: http://gujarat.port5.com/images/