Meet the woman whose lifelong struggle laid the foundation for laws against SEXUAL HARASSMENT in the workplace.

RAJASTHAN,

In 1992 in the heartland of conservative Rajasthan, a WOMAN fought against SEXUAL ASSAULT openly, for the first time. This is the story of Bhanwari Devi.
Bhanwari Devi was employed by the Rajasthan state government’s Women Development Programme in 1985. Her job was to fight against rampant child marriages in the state, not only by creating awareness but also reporting such incidents to the authorities. She was involved in door-to-door campaigns and she would counsel WOMEN on hygiene, family planning, GIRL child education, while discouraging female foeticide, infanticide, dowry, and child marriage. she became aware of an impending marriage of a nine-month-old baby. Outraged, she wanted to counsel the family against such a decision. Even though the family belonged to the higher-caste Gujjar community, Bhanwari remained unshaken in her resolve.  A child bride herself, married at the age of six, she knew the perils of a child marriage firsthand. “I was just doing my job. She was a nine-month child and I had to stop it. I had to report it to the police. I spoke to the family and they refused to listen. I was abused and thrown out,” she recalls. While she was aware of the possible consequences of a WOMAN of lower caste, like herself, meddling in the affairs of a high-caste family, she chose to do her job. When a policeman intervened, he was told that Bhanwari was misinformed and that a family function, not marriage, was underway. “The policeman came, ate sweets and left,” Bhanwari recalls. The family got the baby married the next day and the following months proved to be torturous for them. Irked that a low-caste illiterate WOMAN had dared to defy the social hierarchy, she was initially shunned by the village and ostracised by her community. And on September 22, 1992, Bhanwari was allegedly GANG-RAPED by her high-caste neighbours in the presence of her husband. “Five men from the family started beating me in the fields and they took turns to RAPE me. I can never forget that day,” says Bhanwari. Following the incident, Bhanwari and her husband refused to remain silent.They approached the police and sought to file a report.The police initially refused to acknowledge the incident and instead questioned her whether she even knew what RAPE is. She had to face insensitivity — from doctors, police officers, and even the judiciary. Yet she went public with her RAPE and it has been 26 years since then. It was the first time a WOMAN spoke about SEXUAL ASSAULT openly in conservative Rajasthan. She was accused of lying; the Gujjar community denied the accusations. The village treated her as an outcaste, for RAPE is still a social stigma and Bhanwari’s case attempted to shake the established power structure. Despite this, she continued her pursuit of justice. Over the course of the trial, judges were inexplicably changed five times and, in November 1995, the accused were acquitted of RAPE. The judge acquitted them citing several reasons: A village head cannot rape, men of different castes cannot participate in GANG- RAPE, older men of 60-70 years of age cannot commit RAPE, a man cannot RAPE in front of a relative; in Bhori’s case, two of the accused belonged to the same family — the uncle and nephew, a member of the higher caste cannot RAPE a lower-caste WOMAN because of reasons of purity. Life remains at a standstill Twenty-six years since her brutal GANG-RAPE which shook the world, Bhanwari’s file sits in the pile of pending cases in the Rajasthan High Court, while she continues to live in the same village Bhateri, 30 km from Jaipur. Over the past years, she has been awarded by various organisations for her exceptional courage.The Delhi Commission for WOMEN recognised her courage on March 8, 2017. In 1994, she was awarded the Neerja Bhanot Memorial Award. Though she never got justice through the judicial system and the accused were acquitted, her case opened up a Pandora’s box of taboo topics into the public realm. Bhanwari continues to fight for the rights of every GIRL in her village despite the threats to her life.

If at all you find her story inspiring, don’t just stop there. Empowerment is not just about listening and knowing about injustice; it is also about speaking up and acting on it. We, the team of LET'S CREATE SATYUGA salute the courage of Bhanwari Devi and her selfless service to  humanity.

We are the descendants of Great Mrtyr and Ancestors of this Great Nation want to end war we are fighting with in our society. Let's take a step towards tomorrow to make this world a better place to live in.

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