Short Film ‘Bilkis Bano: Justice Overruled’ Voices Miseries of Muslim Women in Gujarat
New Age
Islam News Bureau
09
May 20123
• Short Film ‘Bilkis Bano: Justice Overruled’ Voices
Miseries of Muslim Women in Gujarat
• A Bangladeshi Dutch Artist Naima Karim’s Paralyzing
Illness Inspires Saudi Film Festival Audiences
• My Father Forcing Me to Marry Stranger, Fatima Aliyu,
20, Tells Sharia Court In Kaduna
• Nigerian Niqab-Wearing Chef Seeks To Break Stereotypes
about Muslim Women
• Scots Female Muslim Boxer, Farah Jamil, Hopes To
'Smash the Glass Ceiling' After Prestigious Title Wins
• Embodying Islam: NadiahMohajir Works to Better
Muslims’ Sexual Health and Relationships
• UN Report: Female Afghan UN Employees Harassed,
Detained
• ‘We Got Married To Visit Each Other In Prison’;
Svetlana Petriychuk Jailed For Her Play about Russian Women Who Convert To
Radical Islam
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/film-bilkis-bano-justice-gujarat-muslim-/d/129737
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Short Film ‘Bilkis Bano: Justice Overruled’ Voices Miseries of Muslim Women in Gujarat
Bilkis
Bano
----
May
08, 2023
Sonam
Saigal
While
the Supreme Court is all set to hear a bunch of pleas challenging the remission
granted to the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case on May 9, Muslim women in
Gujarat, through a short film, voiced that Bilkis Bano’s battle was their own
battle now.
The
19-minute film titled, ‘Bilkis Bano: Justice overruled’’ has images of women
protesting the release of the convicts and the Muslim women of the State
expressed their distress over setting convicts free.
In
the movie, made by Bebaak Collective (Voice of Fearless) that works on human
rights issues, Seema a women’s rights activist said in such cases women’s
safety and protection is the government’s responsibility. “Following the
release of the convicts, the survivor will lose faith in the judicial system,”
Seema said.
The
film opens with a woman exclaiming, “India’s 75th Independence Day was
celebrated by releasing rapists.”
In
2011, a trial court in Mumbai had convicted JaswantbhaiNai, GovindbhaiNai,
Shailesh Bhatt, Radheshyam Shah, Bipinchandra Joshi, KesharbhaiVohania,
PradipModhiya, BakabhaiVohania, RajubhaiSoni, Mitesh Bhatt and Ramesh Chandana
and in 2017, the Bombay High Court upheld the conviction.
However,
last year on the eve of 75th Independence Day, the Centre decided to give
special remission to certain categories of prisoners, who maintained “good
conduct” in jail. This also led to the Gujarat government releasing the 11
convicts involved in Bilkis Bano case.
Bilkis
was gang-raped when she was five months pregnant and 14 members of her family,
including her three-year-old daughter, were murdered in the aftermath of the
communal riots in Gujarat in 2002. After the convicts were released, they were
felicitated with garlands and sweets.
Bilkis
had released a statement saying she was reliving the trauma of the past 20
years.
Yakub
Rasul, Bilkis’s husband featured in the film spoke about his struggle and said,
“We were thinking of starting our life afresh but our lives are ruined again.
We have to keep changing our locations, we are broken emotionally and
financially. Bilkis is traumatized. Those who should be in jail are home and
those who should be home are on the run.”
One
of the women in the film said, “I heard that the convicts are given an election
ticket, today we have 11 rapists, next we will have 50. They have become bold
now, they know they can get away with anything. Sarkar bhiinki, police bhiinki,
vakilinka. [The government, police and the lawyers are all theirs].”
Also
Read | Bilkis Bano’s family surprised on release of 11 life term convicts in
case of her gang rape and kin murder
There
are other women in the documentary too, who voiced similar opinions. “Whether
Hindu or Muslim, all women deserve equal respect. Today this has happened with
Bilkis tomorrow it will be us. That’s why Bilkis Bano should get justice. On
one hand the government says, ‘betibachao’ and then they release rape
convicts,” said another woman.
The
film also highlighted the horrors of 2002 and how the police and government
turned a blind eye to women’s misery. The women in the film stated that they
were asked to leave to Pakistan.
Source:
thehindu.com
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/bilkis-bano-case-ahead-of-sc-hearing-short-film-voices-miseries-of-muslim-women-in-gujarat/article66826756.ece
--------
A
Bangladeshi Dutch Artist Naima Karim’s Paralyzing Illness Inspires Saudi Film
Festival Audiences
A
sequence of stills from ‘the Anticipation of Rain.’ (Supplied)
----
Sulafa
Alkhunaizi
May
08, 2023
DHAHRAN:
A Bangladeshi Dutch artist struck down by a neurological disorder has harnessed
her love of nature to wow Saudi Film Festival audiences.
Naima
Karim’s “The Anticipation of Rain” is a virtual reality experience that has
captivated viewers with its ode to nature’s beauty and strength.
Karim
was in the final year of studies when her life took an unexpected turn. She
said: “I was completely paralyzed because of a neurological disorder in 1999.
It took a long time to recover. I spent most of my time in bed. During those
days, I observed how beautiful nature was around me and was motivated to get
better and to walk again.
“I
dreamt every day of running across a grass field, and the beautiful sky above
me was limitless. That was the most inspiring thing for me when I started to
paint again in 2015, after a long break.”
In
2013, Karim and her family moved to Saudi Arabia where she began showcasing her
artworks.
“I had my first solo exhibition at Dhahran Art
Gallery in 2016. Since then, I have tried different mediums like watercolor,
acrylic, oil, and more.
“The
VR experience came to mind only when I wanted to create something beyond my
canvases. I wanted my audience to immerse fully in monsoon rain,” she added.
“The
Anticipation of Rain” is Karim’s first multi-sensory VR project, and despite
having no prior technical background, after pitching her idea to the Creative
Solutions program, she was enrolled onto master classes.
Source:
arabnews.com
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2299926/saudi-arabia
--------
My
Father Forcing Me to Marry Stranger, Fatima Aliyu, 20, Tells Sharia Court In
Kaduna
MAY
8, 2023
A
20-year-old woman, Fatima Aliyu, on Monday, appealed to a Shari’a Court in
Kaduna to stop her father, Aliyu Muhammad, from forcing her to marry a
stranger.
The
complainant who spoke through her counsel, Y.A. Bulama, told the court that she
has someone she loves.
“The
father wants my client to marry a man in their village in Niger state. Right
now she’s living in her aunty’s house because he threatened to take her to the
village and marry her off,” the counsel said.
He
noted that the complainant did not file a suit against her father out of
disrespect for him.
On
his part, the father said his late parents chose the groom for his daughter
when they were alive and he had to respect their wishes.
“I
married my six daughters off in the village and they are doing well. Fatima’s
mother is the brains behind her stubbornness.
“I
need permission to consult with my people over this matter,” he said.
The
judge, IsiyakuAbdulrahman, held that a father has the right to choose a husband
for his daughter under Shari’a law.
He
however noted that forced marriage was not encouraged while advising the
defendant to be patient with his daughter.
“You
are her father, therefore you should pray for the best for her because if you
are angry with her she won’t see good things.
“Allow
her to present the person she wants to marry and if you are pleased with his
religion and character, you allow her to get married,” he said.
He
also advised the complainant to be a respectful daughter.
Source:
gazettengr.com
https://gazettengr.com/my-father-forcing-me-to-marry-stranger-lady-tells-sharia-court/
--------
Nigerian
Niqab-Wearing Chef Seeks To Break Stereotypes AboutMuslim Women
May
8, 2023
LAGOS,
May 4 (Reuters) - (This May 4 story has been corrected to change the name of
Muslim face veil in the headline and paragraph 1, reword paragraph 1 to clarify
that not all Muslim women wear niqabs, and add explanation of hijab in
paragraph 5)
Sherifah
Yunus Olokodana, an entrepreneur who has carved out a niche as a chef in Lagos,
says she is seeking to break stereotypes about Muslim women in Nigeria as she
demonstrates cooking on Instagram wearing a niqab face veil.
Nigeria
is almost evenly divided between the largely Christian south and mainly Muslim
north, where cultural norms often discourage women to get into business.
Nigerian
chef Sherifah Yunus Olokodana speaks during an interview with Reuters in her
studio in Lagos
[1/4]
Nigerian chef Sherifah Yunus Olokodana speaks during an interview with Reuters
in her studio in Lagos, Nigeria April 7, 2023. REUTERS/SeunSanni
Olokodana,
a Yoruba Muslim from the southwest, has been a pastry chef for nearly two
decades and sells food spices, but she said she still faced prejudice.
"Being
a woman who dresses this way, I have to do 10 times the work of the average
woman," she said while preparing for an Instagram cooking show in her
studio.
"Women
in hijab (headscarves) continue to get negative vibes from people. People who
dress the way I'm dressed are looked down upon in Nigeria."
Source:
reuters.com
https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/nigerian-hijab-wearing-chef-seeks-break-stereotypes-about-muslim-women-2023-05-04/
--------
Scots
Female Muslim Boxer, Farah Jamil, Hopes To 'Smash the Glass Ceiling' After
Prestigious Title Wins
8
MAY 2023
A
female Muslim boxer from Glasgow has told of her she hopes to 'smash the glass
ceiling' after winning a string of prestigious titles.
Farah
Jamil, 32, is Scotland's first champion Muslim amateur female boxer and is now
preparing for the Three Nations title with Team Scotland later this month.
She
has three prestigious titles in three different weight categories and is now
gearing up for her biggest fight yet - representing her country on the
international stage.
Farah,
from Pollokshields, started training around a decade ago and found she had a
knack for it. She recently won her third national title by unanimous decision
against Shannon Lawson, of Barrhead, East Renfrewshire, to become the Scottish
Elite Golden Gloves Light-Welterweight Champion.
Farah
said: "Initially my family were stunned as culturally it's not viewed as a
sport that Muslim women take part in.
"Growing
up I was always sporty, but I'd never shown any interest in boxing until I went
along to the gym.
"I
think some people were surprised that a Scots Asian girl from a Pakistani
background was in the ring but hopefully I am helping change attitudes and perceptions.
"It
wasn't long before my family realised that I was passionate about the sport and
now they come along to all of my fights.
"My
parents and husband are my biggest supporters, they are so proud that I'm
helping to break down cultural barriers and change the belief that boxing is
only for men.
"I
hope I can be an inspiration to other young girls, and I'd like to see more
people from a wide variety of backgrounds take up boxing.
"I'm
proof that you should never hold yourself back and you can achieve anything if
you are dedicated and willing to put in the work.
"I
hope that other young girls will see that you can shatter the glass ceiling and
achieve anything you want to - if you believe in yourself.
"I
joined boxing classes purely to improve my fitness, but after a couple of
sessions I realised I could throw a decent punch or two.
"I
moved on to sparring sessions and started to realise the sport was something I
could be really good at.
"I
began training with a great team who really believed in me and gave me the
confidence to keep going.
"Winning
my first fight was a massive achievement and I've never looked back.
"I've
realised the more I put into the sport the further I can go.
"My
schedule is tough, but I wouldn't have it any other way, it has made me into
the fighter and person I am today.
"It's
over a decade since I got in the ring for the first time and since then I've
won a hattrick of elite titles.
"There's
no stopping me now and I'm determined to achieve as much as possible."
She
credits the hard-working team at Boxers Booth in Govan for spurring her on to
greatness.
Farah
is now undertaking a tough training schedule ahead of the Three Nations title
with Team Scotland later this month.
She
added: "I need to be super strict right now to keep my fighting weight at
63kg.
"I
went to Spain for an intensive two-week bootcamp and that was incredible in
terms of fitness and focus.
"I'm
very fortunate to have such a good team behind me, I couldn't do this without
their incredible support.
"Being
in the ring there's nowhere to hide and it's about your skill as a boxer.
"It's
a tough sport that demands the very best of you and I've suffered a broken
nose, bruised ribs, muscle tears and sprains along the way, but that's all part
of the fun.
"There's
still a lot I want to achieve in the ring and there's still plenty of gas left
in the tank, but just helping other women realise that you can be anything you
want to be is my proudest achievement."
Source:
dailyrecord.co.uk
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scots-female-muslim-boxer-hopes-29925244
--------
Embodying
Islam: NadiahMohajirWorks to Better Muslims’ Sexual Health And Relationships
May
8, 2023
By
Joshua Stanton, Benjamin Spratt
(RNS)
— Many religious communities struggle to discuss sex in a way that is both
grounded in tradition and affirming of their members’ modern experience of
love, attraction and gender. What is the cultural custom of a faith, and what
is a religious requirement? What are norms, and what are mandates?
It’s
no small feat when faith leaders are successful in creating a safe space for
these kinds of intimate conversations, especially, perhaps, faith communities
that struggle with talking about sex openly.
More
than a decade ago, NadiahMohajir, a Pakistani American Muslim and a consultant
at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in her native Chicago,
began to see the extent to which fellow Muslims needed culturally aware
information about healthy relationships, sexually transmitted infections and
pregnancy. Long a confidant for friends dealing with such issues, she saw a
deep unmet need for a place where Muslims could talk about sexual health as
well as gender-based violence.
“When
you go to public school, your teachers don’t have that conversation about
faith,” said Mohajir in a recent interview, “and when you go to Islamic school
your teachers may touch upon puberty or menstruation or even relationships, but
they’ll do it from a way where they’re focused strictly (on) hygiene. They
don’t really talk about relationships and dating and consent, because we’re
technically not supposed to be having sex until we’re married.”
After
some initial pilot programs, Mohajir founded HEART, now a national nonprofit
that works to, as its website says, “promote sexual health, uproot gendered
violence and advance reproductive justice by establishing choice and access for
the most impacted Muslims.”
HEART
was conceived as a “third space” — not the home and not the mosque — that
provides muslims the safety and openness they need to discuss issues about
their bodies, while honoring Muslim traditions.
“We’re
just going to talk about it all,” said Mohajir, “and we’re going to do it in a
way that’s still aligned with our faith. Many of our participants have shared
with us that our programs and workshops have deepened their faith and deepened
their understanding of Islam.”
Those
participants now number in the thousands from across the country. They have not
only taken counsel from its staff, but built supportive relationships with each
other.
She
is careful to say that HEART doesn’t bear the “religious authority of
scholars.” Rather, its staff and organizers invite women into a “deeper dive
into our tradition,” Mohajir said. “We’re not here to debate religious law, but
we acknowledge that faith and sexuality intersect.” Its programs focus on small
groups, active participation and the open sharing of individual experiences.
Nor
does HEART discuss sex and other personal choices in terms of the common binary
of “good Muslims” and “bad Muslims.”
“We
don’t want to play that game,” Mohajir said, “and instead affirm that if you
identify as a Muslim, you’re welcome, because you need to access the same
information as everyone else. Regardless of your identity, your orientation, or
your religious practices as a Muslim, you have a place here. In many ways, this
is an affirmation of faith.”
Mohajir
said that this stance is in keeping with Islamic tradition. “Islamic law… and
Islamic tradition,” she said, “are not as narrow as people think,” noting that
the Scriptures that form Islam’s moral code “have been interpreted by thousands
of people for a millennium and a half.”
Mohajir
urges HEART’s clients to venture into minority opinions on Islamic tradition
and its dialogue with the thought championed by the majority. “There are always
dominant understandings of certain religious law, but … we lift up the
non-dominant — notably understandings of Islam … written and interpreted by
amazing women.”
She
stresses that HEART never tells Muslims what to believe or do. Instead, her
staff encourages Muslims to reflect on how their beliefs inform their attitudes
to think more critically about the decisions that they make. Islam, they say,
should be a resource of wisdom that they draw upon “from a place of their
empowerment, not shame and stigma.”
Participants
in HEART’s “small group work around case studies and personal experiences,” she
said, and can often “rekindle their interest in finding a new sort of
connection to this faith that they initially thought, maybe, they no longer
belonged.”
HEART
engages a far wider swath of Muslims than many mosques and community
organizations — people Mohajir calls “Muslims living on the margins.”
“By
that I mean survivors (of sexual violence and relationship violence), LGBTQ
people and those who have experienced pregnancy loss or abortion,” Mohajir
clarified. “It’s not uncommon for Muslim spaces to have cultures of shame and
blame around those experiences and identities. And, as a result, a lot of those
folks feel iced out.”
HEART’s
safe space, rooted in compassion and belonging, has also, in this sense, made
Islam a safe space again. “It reconnects people to community and helps them
feel like a part of Islam once again,” said Mohajir. “We’ve been able to help
people recreate connection and give them the permission to identify as a Muslim
— along with however else they identify as human beings.”
Source:
religionnews.com
https://religionnews.com/2023/05/08/embodying-islam-nadiah-mohajir-works-to-better-muslim-womens-health-and-relationships/
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UN
report: Female Afghan UN employees harassed, detained
May
09, 2023
ISLAMABAD:
Some Afghan women employed by the United Nations have been detained, harassed
and had restrictions placed on their movements since being banned by the
Taliban from working for the world body, the UN said Tuesday.
Afghanistan’s
Taliban rulers informed the United Nations early last month that Afghan women
employed with the UN mission could no longer report for work.
“This
is the most recent in a series of discriminatory – and unlawful – measures
implemented by the de facto authorities with the goal of severely restricting
women and girls’ participation in most areas of public and daily life in
Afghanistan,” the UN said in a report on the human rights situation in the
south Asian country.
Taliban
authorities continued to crack down on dissenting voices this year, in
particular those who speak out on issues related to the rights of women and
girls, the report said.
The
UN report cited the March arrest of four women who were released the following
day during a protest demanding access to education and work in the capital of
Kabul and the arrest of MatiullahWesa, head of PenPath, a civil society
organization campaigning for the reopening of girls’ schools.
It
also pointed to the arrest of a women’s rights activist ParisaMobariz and her
brother in February in the northern Takhar province.
Several
other civil society activists have been released — reportedly without being
charged — following extended periods of arbitrary detention by the Taliban
Intelligence service, the report said.
The
measures will have disastrous effects on Afghanistan’s prospects for
prosperity, stability and peace, the United Nations Assistance Mission in
Afghanistan, UNAMA said in the report.
“UNAMA
is concerned by increasing restrictions on civic space across Afghanistan,”
said Fiona Frazer, the agency’s human rights chief.
The
Taliban previously banned girls from going to school beyond the sixth grade and
blocked women from most public life and work. In December, they banned Afghan
women from working at local and non-governmental organizations — a measure that
at the time did not extend to UN offices.
The
report also pointed to ongoing extrajudicial killings of individuals affiliated
with the former government. On March 5 in southern Kandahar, Taliban forces
arrested a former police officer from his home, then shot and killed him,
according to the report. During the same month in northern Balkh, a former
military official was killed by unknown armed men in his house, it said.
“Arbitrary
arrests and detention of former government officials and Afghanistan National
Security and Defense Force members also occurred throughout February, March and
April,” added the report.
In
a separate report released Monday, the UN strongly criticized the Taliban for
carrying out public executions, lashings and stonings since seizing power in Afghanistan,
and called on the country’s rulers to halt such practices.
In
the past six months alone, 274 men, 58 women and two boys were publicly flogged
in Afghanistan, said the report.
The
Taliban foreign ministry said in response that Afghanistan’s laws are
determined in accordance with Islamic rules and guidelines, and that an
overwhelming majority of Afghans follow those rules.
The
Taliban began carrying out such punishments shortly after coming to power
almost two years ago, despite initial promises of a more moderate rule than
during their previous stint in power in the 1990s.
Under
the first Taliban regime from 1996 to 2001, public corporal punishment and
executions were carried out by officials against individuals convicted of
crimes, often in large venues such as sports stadiums and at urban
intersections.
Source:
arabnews.com
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2300156/world
--------
‘We
Got Married To Visit Each Other In Prison’; Svetlana Petriychuk Jailed For Her
Play about Russian Women Who Convert To Radical Islam
May
8, 2023
Svetlana
Petriychuk’s documentary play, “Finist the Bright Falcon,” won a prestigious
Golden Mask award in recognition of its powerful portrayal of a whole class of
Russian women: “Maryushkas,” as they’re referred to in the play, are women who
chose to convert to radical Islam and move to Syria, later finding themselves
in trouble with the Russian law. Last week, Petriychuk was arrested while
trying to leave the country, and is now being prosecuted for “justification of
terrorism” in a play that, in reality, dissects radicalization as a social
problem. On the same day, May 4, theater director ZhenyaBerkovich, who directed
an award-winning production of “Finist the Bright Falcon,” was also taken into
custody in connection with the play, which the authorities present as a
specimen of illegal terrorist propaganda. Petriychuk’s husband, theater
director YuryShekhvatov, spoke to Meduza about why Svetlana’s arrest did not
come as a surprise — but still took the couple off guard.
How
did you find out about your wife’s arrest?
She
left for the airport in the morning [on May 4] and stopped responding to
messages.
Where
was she flying to, if you don’t mind sharing?
She
was going abroad, leaving from the Vnukovo Airport. She and I always message
each other right after the passport control, just to say something like “I’m
boarding.” But she didn’t write, and I didn’t see her online. When her flight
left, I started to get really anxious.
I
opened the news, saw that ZhenyaBerkovich had been detained for questioning,
and it all became clear. Through Berkovich’s friends, I found out where Zhenya
was. Then I got in touch with OVD-Info. They’d already helped me in the past,
at the very beginning of the war, when I was arrested twice, for 15 days apiece,
for protesting.
For
a long time, the lawyers couldn’t figure out where Svetlana was, but then we
managed to track her down at the Investigative Committee headquarters. This
took maybe three or four hours. I have the sense that Sveta’s phone was taken
away as soon as they arrested her, otherwise she would have texted me.
Are
you in Moscow now?
No,
I left Russia right after spending that month in custody.
Have
you seen the production that led to Svetlana’s arrest? Did you expect that your
wife would have problems because of it?
Look,
you really don’t know what might lead to problems these days. This was one of
the best shows I had ever seen. After I saw it, I fell even deeper in love with
Sveta’s play. When I heard it being read for the first time, I didn’t quite
grasp it. And Sveta and I weren’t yet together, either.
How
did you get together?
We
started dating in 2020 and got married a year later. We met at the Lyubimovka
drama festival. I’m a director and she’s a playwright — we had this one shared
big love for Lyubimovka.
Anyway,
when I saw that show, it blew my mind. I try not to use weaponized metaphors in
wartime, but it was a really powerful production. Unbelievable music, great set
design, and action that grabbed hold of you completely. I don’t know how many
times Sveta went to see it, but I went at least four times.
What
kind of person is Svetlana?
She
is the strongest and the most intelligent person I know, the same kind of
person as Dmitry Muratov: she has the same unbelievable mental clarity and inner
resilience. She doesn’t make rash decisions; she doesn’t give in to emotion.
She is balanced, deliberate, and nothing can shake her coordinate system.
How
did you decide to get married?
The
reason was completely trivial: we got married to be able to visit each other in
hospital or in prison. I mean, we were two adults living together: what reason
did we have to make this official? But during the pandemic we both got
pneumonia. It didn’t come to hospitalization, but we were very close. Then
protests began. When Navalny got arrested, we realized it was going to be a
lottery: you really couldn’t predict if it would be you who got arrested or the
next protester, if you’d land in jail for 24 hours or the next five years. Once
we kind of had a laughing fit about this, and then we said, “Why don’t we just
get married?” So we went ahead and got married. Our first anniversary is coming
up just now, this May.
Did
you know the play had been denounced two years ago?
Yeah,
we heard something about it — not exactly about its being denounced, but we
knew that something was going on.
But
the thing is that I spent my formative years at Teatr.doc and Lyubimovka. There
were fewer complaints about the latter, but Teatr.doc was constantly dealing
with stuff. Either NOD and SERB activists, for example, threw shit bombs at the
stage. When I apprenticed with Viktor Ryzhakov at the Sovremenniktheater, the
SERBs bothered us there, too. It had never been anything more than white noise.
Okay, there are these dangerous, crazy people, but you just don’t have enough
nerve cells to respond to them all the time. We thought, if there’s a criminal
case, we’ll see.
And
here it is.
That’s
right.
What
was your reaction yesterday?
I’m
noticing that since February 24 it’s pretty hard for me to get emotional, even
in connection to the person I love the most. You develop a resistance to
emotion, to the point that you just do what you need to do, and that’s that. I
just sat down at the computer and didn’t get up all evening. I printed
documents, coordinated things, sent paperwork to the lawyers, collected
testimonies from friends. You just do what you can, without thinking or hoping
for anything.
But
there’s always this pain in the background: this is my wife and, in theory, it
might be years before I see her again. Besides, Svetlana has two elderly
parents.
You
might have seen yesterday’s discussion on the social media, whether to
publicize this case or to keep quiet for now. What’s your position?
Yesterday,
it was the lawyers’ preference not to draw attention to the arrests while
Zhenya and Sveta still figured as witnesses in the case. No one had any
illusions, of course, and everybody knows that once you are a witness, there’s
a 99-percent chance that you’ll next become a suspect. But because Zhenya and
Sveta are media personalities, the lawyers asked us not to raise the
temperature until the prosecution pressed charges. Once this happened,
everything became very clear.
I
must ask you this question. If things start turning for the worse, will you
come back to Russia?
Yesterday
I promised Sveta through the lawyers that I won’t be coming back for now. With
my two misdemeanor convictions for unsanctioned protest and resisting the
police, the authorities would easily find a way to put me in prison.
Source:
meduza.io
https://meduza.io/en/feature/2023/05/08/we-got-married-to-visit-each-other-in-prison
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/film-bilkis-bano-justice-gujarat-muslim-/d/129737