Shabana Azmi breaks down as she speaks about the Bilkis Bano gang rape case; says she is ‘deeply ashamed’ – Times of India

Talking to a news portal, Shabana said that she has no words for Bilkis Bano except that she is deeply ashamed. The actress admired how that woman has had such a huge tragedy and yet she didn’t lose courage. She fought all the way. She got these people convicted. However, as her husband says, just when she’s about to bring her life together, this great travesty of justice happens. Shouldn’t we be shouting from the rooftops so that justice is done to this person? And the women who are feeling unsafe in this country, women who face the threat of rape every day – shouldn’t they get some sense of security?, Shabana asked while speaking to NDTV.

Elaborating further, Shabana added that it takes her completely by surprise because when this happened she just expected there would be such an outpouring of outrage. The actress revealed she waited 2-3 days. However, there was very little visibility in the media and no kind of discussion took place. The actress stated that she was stunned that this could happen. Even now she thinks there is not enough understanding of the injustice and horror of what has happened.

In conclusion, Shabana added that the convicts were felicitated and laddoos were distributed after their release. The actor questioned the signal we are giving to society and women.

The 11 convicts, who were sentenced to life imprisonment in connection with the gang rape of Bilkis Bano during the 2002 Gujarat riots, walked out of the jail recently on August 15. The Gujarat government reportedly allowed their release under its remission policy. They served more than 15 years in jail.