On January 17, 2018, the lifeless body of eight-year-old Asifa Bano was found in a forest in the Hiranagar district of Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir state. According to local press reports in Kashmir, before her death, Asifa was raped and tortured, and her body was found to have human bite marks.
Asifa Bano went missing a week before her body was found. Family members told local media that they filed a police report immediately after she disappeared, but the officers were too slow in investigating the cause of her disappearance. Asifa and her family belong to the Gujar-Bakarwal tribe.
Asifa's monstrous murder has sparked a storm of condemnation among officials, citizens and journalists in Jammu and Kashmir. They compare it to the assassination of Zeynab Ansari in Pakistan. Then the public demanded justice in the same way. However, on a national scale, the reaction to the incident was sporadic, with many Indians refraining from commenting or organizing demonstrations against this inhuman crime. In contrast to other senseless killings, there were no candlelight memorial services or requests for justice.
Major publications such as Zee Newx, Times Now and Republic, which are known for their general government support, did not report the tragedy. Stories like this are often the subject of prime-time debates, trending hashtags and long editorials, especially if they take place within the city. But in this case, since the victim was from a remote region in Jammu and Kashmir and belonged to a national minority, the national reaction was relatively small.
Journalist Majid Hideri criticized local media publications that ignored the tragedy: “Local newspapers that did not report the gruesome murder and rape of an eight-year-old girl on their front page could be assessed as Pimps-by-Journalism or Dalla-e-Sahafat. The tragedy of a Gujarian girl whose family does not have the means to get justice turns into a regular murder report on one of the back pages, without mention of rape. We are all silent because it was not our daughter or sister, or maybe she was not from our community or tribe; she did not belong to an influential circle that could awaken our souls.
So let's not look at this shocking tragedy as an incident involving Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs or Christians; if we humans do not rise up against such crimes as a single voice, regardless of religious or other beliefs, someone's daughter will be the next victim. Today, let us bow our heads in a common sense of shame. Sorry, Asifa, we have not done anything for you, because your rape and murder does not serve our interests!"
In the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, the opposition political party National Conference (NK) withdrew from the courtroom to protest the assassination, and the ruling party announced an expedited investigation. Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir State Mehbuba Mufti expressed his outrage and called for an expedited investigation. A fifteen-year-old boy was arrested in connection with the murder.
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Crimes against women
Over the past two weeks, this tragedy, as well as another murder, along with ten rapes in the Haryana region, have forced the government and the press to focus on the issue. Hundreds of women were harassed by hooligans on New Year's Eve in 2017, leading to massive protests across the country.
In India, the problem of rape and crimes against women has existed for a long time. Since 2001, 143795 cases of crimes against women have become known. India has seen an annual increase in the number of crimes against women - 337,992 cases in 2014. These numbers continue to rise as more women and girls report cases of sexual harassment, harassment and rape.
Meanwhile, in Jammu and Kashmir, many are still wondering why the assassination of Asifa did not shake the public consciousness in India. Why did the media cover so little the topic of this crime? The rules and regulations that dominate India's legal system and government have a long way to go before they can protect the rights and physical safety of all Indians - and especially women and girls.