India: Feminist groups demand justice for Baruipur rape victim, 11

Since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in the state of West Bengal two months ago promising women’s safety, the state has witnessed at least eight serious incidents of violence against women and girls.

One of the latest was the horrific murder and gang rape in Baruipur. An 11-year-old Muslim girl was abducted while out buying a friend’s birthday present, and subjected to the most inhuman torture, including a group rape. While still alive, she was tied up in a sack and thrown into a pond to drown.

One of the suspects, who was also a key witness and had pointed to the role of a BJP leader in the crime, has already been killed in an ‘encounter’ (extra-judicial killing by the police).

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, well known for his anti-Muslim hate speech, has shockingly likened protests in the aftermath of the crime to the “anti-CAA agitations”. These were in fact peaceful campaigns against an Islamophobic citizenship law but were criminalised and attacked by state-sponsored mobs, leading to the arrests and incarceration of Muslims.

India: Sexual violence sweeps the country

The South Asia Solidarity Group is outraged and deeply disturbed at the Indian government’s silence and inaction about sexual violence and attacks on women and girls across the country.

In the same week as the Baruipur gang rape, three dozen men in several hotels over several days sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan. These are only two cases which have been publicised in the news media or on social media. Many more go unreported.

At the same time, the internet is awash with AI-generated sexualised images of Muslim women, while rapists are praised and felicitated.

Hindu supremacy

The skyrocketing violence against women and girls, particularly those who are Muslim and oppressed caste, is a sign of the creeping imposition of the Manusmriti. This is an ancient Sanskrit legal text known for its misogyny and violence against women and oppressed castes, with which Hindu supremacists want to replace India’s Constitution.

Meanwhile, in a bitter irony, one can still read the BJP’s slogan popularised by Modi, Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (Save Daughters, Educate Daughters) on the back of buses and trucks on India’s highways.

What we demand

We stand in solidarity with the survivors and the families of the girls and women who have been murdered, and demand accountability, transparency and justice. This can never be replaced by mob lynchings and ‘encounter’ killings.

In relation to the Baruipur murder and rape, we fully support the demands of feminist organisations in West Bengal, including:

A time-bound, impartial investigation into the rape and murder of the minor girl from Baruipur
An independent investigation into the state murder of a prime witness of the case and the circumstances surrounding it
An investigation into the role of the police, which includes possible negligence and undue advantage given to the criminals
An independent investigation into the role of all politically influential persons involved in this case
Withdrawal of all cases against activists speaking out for justice in the case, and the protection of the right to protest democratically
Security, legal aid and a speedy and transparent process of justice for the family of the victim

Our demands are cosigned by the following feminist and diaspora organisations in the UK, US and Canada: