[Reader-list] Account of Woman Attacked in Bangalore

[Inder Salim]

may be Hindu Women too need something like Bhatiya Muslim Mahila
Andholan to defend themselves

Today in Times of India too, a pieces appeared :

INDIA'S MUSLIM FEMINISTS JOIN GLOBAL JIHAD FOR GENDER JUSTICE

lthere is lot to read about this never movement by Muslim women
here is one clip :


Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan launched
Charu Singh
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 11
In an effort to empower Muslim women, the international multilateral
organisation, Action Aid, inaugurated a convention and launched the
‘Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan’ here on Tuesday.

Speaking on the occasion journalist, Ms Seema Mustafa, stressed upon
the need for amendment in the Muslim Personal Law so as to ensure an
equal space to women in the community. She added, “The reform requires
a push from the community.”

The Sachar Committee Report indicates that Muslims are the largest
minority community in India constituting oddly 13.4 per cent of the
population. The community is subjected to a poor human development
index, widespread illiteracy, low income, and irregular employment-
implying thereby a high incidence of poverty. Women of the community
are the worst hit bearing not only the burden of patriarchy but also
subjugated to the personal law for ages.

Action Aid has initiated a process in different states where women
from the grassroot level and NGOs have been discussing the need for
women to monitor all the issues concerning their lives. It has
stressed on increasing educational levels, providing livelihood,
security and proper justice to Muslim women across the diaspora.

“The Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan aims at acting as a voice for
Muslim women and demand social, economic, political, civil, legal and
religious rights for the realisation of equal citizenship,” observed
Ms Zakia Jowhar of Action Aid.

The convention centered on the crisis of leadership in the community.
There are no satisfactory answers to who represents the community and
takes responsibility for them. The speakers observed that besides the
government, community leaders should also pay heed to the
socio-economic backwardness of the community and take steps to
ameliorate the condition.

On Sat, Feb 28, 2009 at 2:23 AM, Lawrence Liang
<lawrence at altlawforum.org> wrote:
> Hi all
>
> In addition to the blog posted earlier, this is an account by a woman
> attacked in Bangalore ( names Changed)
>
>
>
>  Time, date of Attack: 11:15-11:30 on
>
> My name is XXXXX. I am a Bangalorean. At least I think I am. I fell in love
> with this city two years ago and shifted base from Mumbai. I was on my way
> to work at Koramangala at around 11.15-11.30 in the morning when my auto
> broke down at Ulsoor. As I was hailing another one a white Quallis slowed
> down next to me and the occupants said something to me in Kannada. I rolled
> my eyes. That was their provocation.
> I do not know if that angered them but the more I dwell on that
> unforgettable episode in my life, they seemed like predators, on the hunt.
> Before I knew it four middle-aged men emerged out of the vehicle and began
> verbally assaulting me.
>
> First they started hurling obscenities at me in Kannada and then it became
> physical. They started touching and pulling at my clothes. One of them
> tugged so brutally at the shrug I was wearing that he scratched my neck.
> Their goal — to show the collected crowd the top that I was wearing
> underneath my shrug.
> When the shrug didn’t come off with their tugging, the violence of the
> tugging increased. In self defence I hit out at an offending hand that was
> trying to disrobe me. The response, he slapped me hard across my ear. Then
> they began trying to lift my top up while making references to ‘pink chaddi’
> – the only words I could understand of their tirade.
>
> I told them I would call the police and one of them arrogantly proffered me
> his phone to make the call. The few people who dared to gather and watch
> were dumbfounded and no one said a thing. Some passing cars even slowed
> down, but not one stopped to help.
> The whole time, the four of them kept up the tireless rant of obscenities,
> calling me names and trying to humiliate me in front of the gathered crowd.
> They couldn’t bear that a woman was looking them in the eye, and each time I
> raised my head to look at the tormentors, they kept pushing my head down,
> threatening me not to look at them in the face. While they were hitting my
> head, an army vehicle drove past. They stopped and intervened. Finally the
> army men helped me into a rickshaw to continue on what I thought was going
> to be a regular day at work.
>
> It looked like these guys just wanted to make a spectacle and humiliate
> someone that day. And I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I don’t
> want to imagine what would have happened to me if the army men hadn’t put an
> end to the humiliation. I do not want to talk to the cops as even with
> hardcore evidence, the police didn’t do anything about the Mangalore episode
> and those hooligans are out. I do not want to talk to the press and be
> anyone’s political scapegoat. The whole situation was a nightmare and every
> time I talk about it, I relive it.
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