“Today Is Truly New Year For Me… I Can Breathe Again”: Bilkis Bano On Supreme Court Verdict (Image: Nishrin Jafri Hussain)

In a significant legal development that brought embarrassment to the Gujarat government and ruling BJP, a Supreme Court of India bench consisting of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan, overturned the remission granted to 11 men convicted in the infamous 2002 gang-rape and murder case of Bilkis Bano and her family. Responding to the verdict, Bilkis Bano, in a statement issued through her lawyer Shobha Gupta expressed profound relief, stating that the court”s decision marked a new beginning for her.

”Today is truly the New Year for me. I have wept tears of relief. I have smiled for the first time in over a year and half. I have hugged my children. It feels like a stone the size of a mountain has been lifted from my chest, and I can breathe again,” Bilkis Bano said.

The survivor conveyed her gratitude to the Supreme Court for what she deemed as vindication and a renewed hope in the promise of equal justice for all. Bilkis Bano emphasized that justice, in this instance, serves not only her cause but stands as a beacon for women everywhere.

Acknowledging the support she received during her arduous journey, Bilkis credited her husband, children, friends, and her lawyer, Advocate Shobha Gupta, for standing by her side for over two decades. She emphasized the collaborative nature of her struggle and the importance of solidarity in challenging times.

Bilkis Bano reflected on the challenging moment when those responsible for her family”s destruction were granted early release in August 2022. She highlighted the collective response from thousands of ordinary people and women across India who rallied behind her. PIL petitions were filed, appeals written, and an open letter signed by tens of thousands from various districts, showcasing a groundswell of support.

Expressing gratitude to those who stood in solidarity, Bilkis Bano asserted that the verdict not only holds personal significance but carries a broader message of upholding the rule of law and equality before it, not just for her but for every woman in India. The survivor closed her statement with a simple yet powerful dua – a prayer for the rule of law and equality for all.

Here is Bilkis Bano’s complete statement:

“Today is truly the New Year for me. I have wept tears of relief. I have smiled for the first time in over a year and half. I have hugged my children. It feels like a stone the size of a mountain has been lifted from my chest, and I can breathe again. This is what justice feels like. I thank the honourable Supreme Court of India for giving me, my children and women everywhere, this vindication and hope in the promise of equal justice for all.

I have said before, and I say again today, journeys like mine can never be made alone. I have had my husband and my children by my side. I have had my friends who have given me so much love at a time of such hate, and held my hand at each difficult turn. I have had an extraordinary lawyer, Advocate Shobha Gupta, who has walked with me unwaveringly for over 20 long years, and who never allowed me to lose hope in the idea of justice.

A year and half ago, on August 15, 2022, when those who had destroyed my family and terrorised my very existence, were given an early release, I simply collapsed. I felt I had exhausted my reservoir of courage. Until a million solidarities came my way. Thousands of ordinary people and women of India came forward. They stood with me, spoke for me, and filed PIL petitions in the Supreme Court. 6000 people from all over, and 8500 people from Mumbai wrote appeals; 10,000 people wrote an Open Letter, as did 40,000 people from 29 districts of Karnataka. To each of these people, my gratitude for your precious solidarity and strength. You gave me the will to struggle, to rescue the idea of justice not just for me, but for every woman in India. I thank you.

Even as I absorb the full meaning of this verdict for my own life, and for my children”s lives, the dua that emerges from my heart today is simple – the rule of law, above all else and equality before law, for all.”