Bilkis Bano addressing a press conference in New Delhi, yesterday.
New Delhi: Gujarat gang-rape survivor Bilkis Bano yesterday said that after 15 years of indescribable struggle she is preparing for a new beginning after last week's court ruling, and urged that the 11 men convicted by the court should not be granted parole.
She hailed the Bombay High Court verdict of upholding life terms to the 11 convicts, and also welcomed the court's May 4 verdict rejecting the CBI plea for death penalty for three of the convicts, saying she wanted justice not revenge.
"I am very happy with the verdict. It has ensured that people can have faith in the country's judicial system and expect justice," Bano said, addressing media persons at the Press Club of India here.
Brutalised by a gang of men and her nearly entire family wiped out in front her eyes in during the 2002 Gujarat riots, Bano says after the court ruling, she is preparing for a new beginning. Bano and her husband Yakub said that in order to live without any fear, it was necessary that the convicts are not granted parole.
"The verdict is an opportunity for us to make a new beginning. For the last 15 years we have been living in constant fear, changing places, not able to go back home. It is important that the convicts are not granted parole," said Bano.
Their appeal was endorsed by rights activists Kavita Srivastava and National Award winning film director Shonali Bose.
