CC_India

In addition the social-legal construct of rape in the law and order system
and the evidentiary difficulties inherent in a situation of mass politisied
violence makes access to the normal structures of justice for the survivors
a hugely challenging and indeed demoralising attempt.
Ministries for prosecution. Permissions have not been
granted. Despite the Supreme Court specifically ruling
that murder and rape does not fall within the ambit of
performance of official ‘duty’ which would oblige impunity,
there have been no prosecution for the crimes of
rape and murder. Instead, the army has opted for non
transparent court martials which as the 2014 acquittal
in the Pathribal fake encounter case attests, are not
seen as credible or trustworthy. Also, the process of the
court martial provides no access or sense of justice having
been done to the victim. Moreover, as in the Shopian
(J&K) case of alleged rape and murder of two women,
police intimidation of witnesses and falsification of
forensic evidence makes the possibility of accessing justice,
impossible.
In addition the social- legal construct of rape in the law
and order system and the evidentiary difficulties inherent
in a situation of mass politisised violence makes
access to the normal structures of justice for the survivors
a hugely challenging and indeed demoralising
attempt. Lobbying by women’s groups to effect much
needed changes in the law of evidence for mass sexual
violence in the context of communal violence, failed in
the end to get reflected in the pending anti communal
violence bill rendering justice elusive for the victim/survivors
of the Kandhamal violence.
State agencies continue to be indifferent and hostile
to VAW. It is striking that in three of the CC sites, so
disempowered do the conflict affected feel that their
right to access justice is displaced by the struggle for
compensation and reconciliation. In Tripura even the
SWC urged not justice for SVAW but compensation. In
Kandhamal, Rajouri & Poonch and Tripura women have
been left vulnerable and forced to live with their violators
who roam free and audacious. It is noteworthy
that in Tripura the tribal women demanded access to
legal aid to assert their right to justice. In Kandhamal,
despite all odds a nun asserts the right to justice by
choosing to study the law. For in Kandhamal the powerful
block access to justice and victims plead for reconciliation
seeking to survive in a corrupted system that
denies not only equality but even the claim to humanity
of the marginalised minorities. The breakdown of social
cohesion especially in situations of communal violence,
militarisation and extremism makes for greater distrust,
undermining social and gender bonding and reinforces
vulnerability.
In Jagatsinghpura, Odhisa, state law and order agencies
are used to file ‘false’ cases against people engaged in
democratic protest, perverting the very notion of justice.
Women must be able to access (particularly in
tribal and remote areas) legal aid, human rights information
and public awareness of AFSPA- its jurisdiction
and provisions to how to assist them to obtain justice.
CORRUPTION
As long as there is greed, there is corruption, a journalist
said to us. It is systemic. The CCs brought a gendered
lens to the every day experiences of corruption in situations
of democratic resistance, violent armed conflict
and pacification. The CCs viewed corruption not only
a violation of human rights but also as an important
cause of women’s personal, economic and political
insecurity. They explored the interlinkages between
corruption in its multiple forms and militarisation and
extremism. They emphasised that militarisation in fostering
a culture of impunity and non accountability further
deepens corruption. Moreover the incursions of the
military into the civilian spheres of development, especially
in an environment where there is systemic corruption,
corrupts the military.
UNEQUAL CITIZENS: Women’s Narratives of Resistance, Militarisation, Corruption and Security
51