The Indian government’s decision to release 11 persons convicted of gang raping a Muslim lady, Bilqis Bano, aroused outrage across the country.
After serving 15 years in jail, the defendants were freed.
In 2002, 14 members of the Bilqis family were slain in a religiously motivated riot in Gujarat.
Men and women screamed anti-government chants, urging the government to rescind its decision to free the rapists.
We cannot stand by and witness what happened to Bilqis Bano and her family in our country. That is why we will all come and raise our voices, Indian film actor and women’s rights campaigner Shabana Azmi told AFP in Delhi.
Hatred against women, as well as sexism, has evolved to the point that rape is now considered normal, according to Aditi, a student protester.
Separately, over 100 retired public workers wrote to India’s chief justice, claiming that freeing the rapists would have a chilling effect on the protection of all women.
The Gujarat government announced the decision to free the prisoners on August 15, the 75th anniversary of India’s independence.
A video that has now gone viral shows men queuing outside Godhra jail while relatives bring them chocolates and stroke their feet to show respect.
Ms Bano described the decision to free the two men as unjust and said it had shattered her trust in the legal system.
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Protests in India protest the release of criminals implicated in a gang rape.
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