Fact-finding
by
a Women's Panel
Syeda Hameed, Muslim Women?s Forum, Delhi
Ruth Manorama, National Alliance of Women, Bangalore
Malini Ghose, Nirantar, Delhi
Sheba George, Sahrwaru, Ahmedabad
Farah Naqvi, Independent Journalist, Delhi
Mari Thekaekara, Accord, Tamil Nadu

Sponsored by
Citizen?s Initiative, Ahmedabad [India]

April 16, 2002  

     The economic targeting of Muslims in the current violence in Gujarat is unprecedented.
     A drive down any street in an affected area will confirm this. Muslims businesses in
     both urban and rural areas have been systematically destroyed. Scores of women that
     the fact-finding team met have lost everything overnight; everything except the clothes
     on their back. Shops were burnt and homes looted of everything. Many women kept
     repeating long lists of the possessions they had lost. Some insisted that we write down
     everything. The psychological impact of this sudden destitution has been brutal.

     INNOCENCE IN THE TIME OF WAR

     Adivasis took away everything, says Shaheen, in a soft voice, looking shyly at the floor,
     as if embarrassed at complaining to a stranger. She?s little. Sonu, her parents call her.
     Only 7 years old. And she can?t understand why her loss is less important than others?.
     Resentment is barely concealed in her innocent eyes. Because the looters who attacked
     her village, snatched away her most prized possessions - her toys. "Ek cycle thi" (I had
     a cycle), she says. But lest we don?t appreciate the full extent of her loss, she quickly
     adds "Doosri cycle bhi thi" (I also had another cycle). Now she?s unstoppable. In
     barely audible tones, the list starts pouring out of her mouth - "Ek kursi, ek vimaan. Ek
     choolah bhi tha. Chooleh pe roti banate the. Gudiya bhi thi". (One chair, one aeroplane,
     one stove. I used to make rotis on my stove. I also had a doll) Are Hindus bad, we
     ask? Yes, she nods, followed by a quick "No". She thinks of Anita and Kamal, her
     friends in the village school in Atasumba. They are Hindus. She misses them.
 

     Ramayan Camp. March 28, 2002
 

     Creation of Female Headed Households and Destitution of Single Women

     An immediate impact of the violence is the creation of female-headed households. In
     many cases entire families have been killed. Women testified to having witnessed
     several members of their family dying. They were dealing not only with the trauma of
     this loss, but facing a future with their life?s savings and livelihood sources destroyed.
     For those who were already surviving as single women (including widows) before the
     violence, the future is equally bleak. Having struggled to gain economic solvency, they
     are back to being destitute.
 
 
 

     Ayesha Bibi, Shah e Alam Camp, Ahmedabad. March 27, 2002
 

     They killed my husband. He was a rickshaw puller. My brother was shot. They
     tear-gassed us. I have four children.
 

     Juleha Bi, Shah e Alam Camp, Ahmedabad. March 27, 2002
 

     She too witnessed her husband?s death. " He was burnt in front of the Police line. If the
     police had taken them inside this would never have happened. In earlier riots nothing
     happened because the SRP helped. I have 6 children to be bring up on my own."
 

     Mumtaz, Ramayan Camp, Sabarkantha district. March 28, 2002
 

     My husband Karim Bhai died 12 years ago. I have one son. He is 12 years old. I work
     as a domestic servant to support myself and feed my son. On Friday around 7.30 pm
     the mob came. They were about 150 people. All with their faces covered. ?Our?
     Muslims had 56 houses and 7 shops. All of us ran for our lives. The durbars hid us in
     their houses and gave us food. In the morning they told us "You?d better run for safety
     somewhere else." >From the durbar?s houses we could see everything. First they
     looted everything. Then they burnt our houses and shops. Where can I go from here? "
 

     Kulsum, Ramayan Camp, Sabarkantha district. March 28, 2002
 

     My husband left me five years ago. I had a small galla (stall/shop) selling a variety of
     things - saag bhaji (vegetables) and bangles. I was managing on my income. Then came
     the attack on my village Munai, which has only 15 Muslim homes. The Patels and
     Adivasis destroyed everything. My neighbours (Rajputs) prevented my house from
     being burnt, and they even hid me for a while, but my galla was burnt. I have come to
     the camp along with my husband?s older brother and his wife who also lived in Munai.
     I have 3 children to support.