WOMAN ON TOP
Not a celebrity in the conventional sense, nevertheless one who deserves a round of applause and accolades from all, young and old. She is none other than Bilkis Bano, one of the many women, whose lives took a dramatic turn for the worse, during the Godhra riots.
Her trauma commenced the day she was gang raped in Dahod district of Gujarat. To add to the atrocity, she was pregnant when the heinous crime was committed. She also lost 14 relatives including her 3-year-old child, mother and 2 sisters.
This act in itself doesn’t make her famed. God forbid should it.
What has earned her the appreciation and awe of onlookers is her immensely courageous decision to go to court. She is indeed Tamil Poet Bharathiyar’s “Pudhumai Penn” (New-Age woman).At a time when most women shy from publicity, especially in cases of rape, sexual molestation etc, a villager rising above all unsocial elements to fight for her cause is indeed an occasion to rejoice. Her stance that justice can be the only victor has helped her through these turbulent times.

What makes it even more commendable is the fact that she stood her ground even while the legal implications became steadily dangerous. She was forced to shift her residence several times. She received horrific murder threats. Her vulnerability was increased when her case was transferred from her hometown to an unfamiliar city. Any other woman, under these circumstances would have surely backed off. But with a heart of steel, Bano persisted, pursued and emerged victorious, if not completely, at least to an extent previously unheard of, in the history of such cases.

The sentence of life imprisonment to her tormentors is certainly not the end, but is a beginning of a new life for her. It is also the start of an era where women can believe in themselves and can stick to their decisions without fearing the perverse ways of the male dominated society.
Though her intention was not to be acknowledged as a celebrity, it our duty to place her at a pedestal…after all, she has succeeded single-handedly, in paving a path of justice and has bolstered the courage of many who still cringe to face adversity.