Tag Archives: rape culture

Culture, Genders, Islamophobia, Politics, Right watch, Sex, Violence/Conflict

Statement in Protest of the Violent Meme targeting Mamata Banerjee and the Muslim Community

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Following is a statement signed by 1815 people protesting against the violent anti-Muslim and misogynist meme that had been circulating, targeting West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

We, the undersigned people from different walks of life, express our deep revulsion and anger at the vicious meme, targeting the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, which has been circulating in social media on this day April 27, 2026. We are attaching with this statement, a blurred image of the meme, along with the profile of the person who circulated it – they call themselves a “Rightwing Nationalist” based in Bhadohi, Uttar Pradesh – so that our compatriots know what we are protesting against.

The meme is not only violent and misogynistic, it is also viciously anti-Muslim. It depicts the Muslim – perhaps the “Bangladeshi Muslim” – as passing through Mamata Banerjee’s open legs and is titled “This is Momta Culture” – while of course, giving us a splendid view of the meme creator’s own sanskari culture.

Through this statement we want to appeal to the people of this country, our compatriots, and to those in the judiciary, and elsewhere in the system, who still stand in defence of minimum standards of probity in public life. We want to underline that this is a challenge to our justice system that such hate speech against an entire community and a woman politician can be aired and shared with complete impunity.

We also want to underline that it is the culture of rape and misogyny that has been encouraged by the ruling party at the centre that has led to this situation that anybody can air whatever comes to their hate-filled minds. We have not forgotten the release of the rapists of Bilqis Bano, the killing of the Hathras rape victim, the destruction of the entire family of the Unnao rape victim; nor have we forgotten the Kathua rape or the killing of Ankita Bhandari for failing to provide “special service” to a senior leader of the ruling party or giving an election ticket to sexual harassment accused former chief of the Wrestling Federation of India. In all these cases, we have witnessed complete silence from the top leaders of the ruling party including the prime minister and home minister.

We do not want to address the creators of the meme for we know that they are products of this frightful hate machine that “Rightwing Nationalism” (their appropriate self-description) is. Rather, we are interested that our institutions of democracy and justice play the role that they should be playing in order to ensure minimum standards of probity in public life. Continue reading Statement in Protest of the Violent Meme targeting Mamata Banerjee and the Muslim Community →

Culture, Feminism, Government, Sex

महिला पहलवानों का सुबकता चेहरा – राष्ट्र अपने अंतरात्मा के दर्पण में : माया जॉन

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Guest post by MAYA JOHN

यह लेख डेक्कन हेरल्ड में लिखे गए लघु लेख का हिन्दी रूपान्तरण है।

रात के अंधेरे में महिला पहलवानों से दिल्ली पुलिस की हालिया हाथापाई के बाद उनका आँसुओं से भरा  चेहरा दिखा। अंतर्राष्ट्रीय ख्याति प्राप्त यह महिला पहलवान सत्तारूढ़ पार्टी के सांसद और भारतीय कुश्ती संघ के अध्यक्ष द्वारा महिला पहलवानों के कथित यौन उत्पीड़न के खिलाफ लगातार विरोध प्रदर्शन कर रही हैं। पिछले कुछ महीनों में आरोपी सांसद के खिलाफ इन विरोध प्रदर्शनों का यह दूसरा दौर है। विडम्बना है कि सुप्रीम कोर्ट में मामला पहुँचने के बाद ही आरोपी के खिलाफ प्राथमिकी दर्ज हो पाई। आरोपी के खिलाफ लैंगिक अपराधों से बालकों का संरक्षण (पोक्सो) अधिनियम के तहत मामला दर्ज होने के बावजूद उसकी अभी तक गिरफ्तारी नहीं हुई है, और यहाँ तक कि वो अभी भी कुश्ती संघ के अध्यक्ष पद पर आसीन है। पहलवानों के यूँ सुबकते चेहरे, उनके अपमान और हताशा हमारे ज़मीर को भी झकझोरते हैं कि आखिर हमारे देश की क्या हालत हो रही है।

Continue reading महिला पहलवानों का सुबकता चेहरा – राष्ट्र अपने अंतरात्मा के दर्पण में : माया जॉन →
Everyday Life, Feminism, Right watch, Sex, Violence/Conflict

Yogi Adityanath Must Immediately Resign for his Govt. has failed to protect SC/ST women in UP: Joint Statement

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The following joint statement was issues 11 organizations including the Dalit Adivasi Shakti Adhikar Manch and the NAPM, in Delhi today.

In the past few years the number of new cases of rape of young women have increased fourfold in Uttar Pradesh. The Yogi Adityanath’s government should take the accountability of deteriorating law and order in Uttar Pradesh which has failed to protect young girls and has not been able to provide any security to them in Uttar Pradesh. Many media houses have been questioned for mentioning the caste of the girl but one cannot not mention that it is a result of a very brutal caste based violence. Dalit women are often subjected to the most brutal violence in this country so much so that the mainstream media also does not cover it because it is not relevant for them to cover these issues. When it comes to caste based violence in India Dalit women are the most vulnerable because the violence against them are culturally and politically motivated. It is a revenge against the entire spectrum of why a woman has raised her voice, these therefore are tools to suppress her voice all together. The upper caste men often wants to teach the Dalit woman a lesson which is deterrent in nature so that other Dalit women do not challenge their authority. This is why according to reports 4 Dalit women are raped every day. In Uttar Pradesh itself that data shows that the Scheduled Caste and Schedule Tribe (Prevention of atrocities), Act, 1989 has become a tool to appease the vote banks and it so far is remembered during the time of caste baste conflicts that is why the SC/ST Commission in Uttar Pradesh has been without any head for more than 8 moths while the pending application of atrocities have been piling up at the centre of a state which is home to 22 per cent of Dalits in India. In the wake of this case suddenly the Yogi government is now concerned for the SC/ST entrepreneurs, churning out new policies for them from their bag over last week. We demand that Yogi Adityanath, the CM of Uttar Pradesh should immediately resign as his government has failed to take strict actions to protect SC/ST women in his state severely.

On behalf of :  Dalit Adivasi Shakti Adhikar Manch (DASAM); National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM-Delhi); Institute for Democracy and Sustainability Delhi; Delhi Solidarity Group (DSG); People’s Resource Centre (PRC); Shaheri Mahila kamgaar Union; National Domestic Workers Union; Rehabilitation Research Initiative (RRI); Lok Theatre India (LTI); Community for Social Change & Development (CSCD); Sewerage or Sambandh Karmchari Manch (SSKM)

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