We Have No Orders to Save You - Human Rights Watch

have been victims of violence including sexual violence…. The few women who tried to bring
charges of sexual violence have found the legal and investigative systems totally unresponsive to
their needs. In many cases, it is the police who were the instigators and perpetrators of sexual
violence against Muslim women. 87
As with cases of sexual violence against women throughout the country, many survivors have been silenced by
members of their own community who want to hide their “shame.” As a consequence, families have forced
young girls to get married in an attempt to hide the fact that they were raped. The IIJ report states: “We met many
mothers who admitted to us that they had been compelled to send their daughters ‘away’ or marry them off to
men who they knew to be unsuitable. The failure of state agencies to prosecute perpetrators of violence means
that rapists are free to continue to threaten and taunt women on a daily basis.” 88 As men fear for the safety of the
women and girls in their family, greater restrictions are being imposed on their ability to move around freely. 89
The IIJ report also found that administrative procedures were “insensitive to, and obstructed access to redress for
victims, such as widows’ pensions, school admission, [and] documentation for ‘missing persons.’” A lack of
focus on difficulties faced by single women, widows, and female heads of household whose traditional systems of
support have collapsed was also noted. 90
Bias in the Courts
Should a case surmount the obstacles associated with the police registration and investigation of cases and finally
reach trial, Muslim victims must then deal with the biases of prosecutors and members of the judiciary. A
government official explained:
It’s not just that the witnesses are turning hostile, it’s that the judges and prosecutors are also
against them. They will not get justice…. Even the public prosecutors are VHP men; the judges
are their men. And in any case, the police has already botched up the case. Where witnesses are
willing to testify, the public prosecutors try to turn them into hostile witnesses, or they just
adjourn them. I see no chance of any case ending in a conviction. There have already been a
dozen acquittals in Panchmahals [district]…. At some point someone approached me to ask
about the cases and I wanted to say, “Get used to the fact that you are living in a Hindu rashtra
and not a secular state.” I have never felt so defeated. 91
Lawyers representing Muslim victims have also not been spared. According to attorney Sophia Khan, “In courts
the lawyers who took up cases for Muslim victims are being harassed or pressured.” 92 In his testimony before the
Citizens’ Tribunal, senior solicitor Iqbal Hawa spoke of the disturbing communalization of the Gujarat bar at all
levels. His testimony, paraphrased in the Citizens’ Tribunal report, read:
87 International Initiative for Justice in Gujarat, “An Interim Report,” December 19, 2002, pp. 2-3 [online],
http://www.onlinevolunteers.org/gujarat/reports/iijg/interimreport.pdf (retrieved June 3, 2003). IIJ is comprised of jurists,
activists, lawyers, writers and academics from various parts of the world. Representatives of IIJ visited areas in and around
Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and and Panchmahals, Gujarat between December 14 and 17, 2002 to investigate, among other
things, the violence inflicted upon women since February 27, 2002. International Initiative for Justice in Gujarat, “Press
Release,” December 19, 2002 [online], http://www.onlinevolunteers.org/gujarat/reports/iijg/pressrelease.pdf (retrieved June
3, 2003). IIJ investigations also found that police, prosecutorial, and judicial member connections to the sangh parivar
“clearly impairs the course of justice.” Evidentiary requirements that prevent the prosecution of rape charges without
sufficient medical reports and other corroborating evidence were also highlighted. Ibid.
88 International Initiative for Justice in Gujarat, “An Interim Report,” p. 3.
89 A similar trend was observed in Bombay following the 1992-1993 riots there. The wearing of burqas by Muslim women
and girls became much more common. Concerned Citizens Tribunal, Crime Against Humanity, vol. II, p. 158.
90 International Initiative for Justice in Gujarat, “An Interim Report,” p. 4.
91 Human Rights Watch interview with Gujarat government official (name withheld), Ahmedabad, January 5, 2003.
92 Human Rights Watch interview with Sophia Khan, Ahmedabad, January 4, 2003.
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH 25 JULY 2003, Vol. 15, No. 3 (C)