Dear Hon. Justice Verma,

Referring to your public notice on ‘Inviting suggestions on amendments to Criminal Laws Relating to Safety and Security of Women’, please find enclosed the submission of women’s groups, progressive groups and individuals, endorsed by approximately 1000 people, condemning sexual violence and opposing death penalty for sexual assault/rape.

We request you to kindly take this into account in your recommendations.

At the same time, we urge you to organise a meeting where we and other groups can share our views in person.

Thanks and regards, Amrita, Nandini and Deepti
For Citizens Collective againt Sexual Assault, New Delhi

Citizens’ Collective against Sexual Assault (CCSA) is a group of individuals and organisations based in Delhi and the NCR. It was formed in the wake of a spate of crimes against women that took place in the region in 2012. The Collective has come together to raise awareness about and protest against the extreme culture of sexual violence against women, girls and transgender people in Delhi, Noida and Gurgaon. The Collective raises these issues with the public, the media, as well as the administration and the police of Delhi-NCR and work in different ways to stop and prevent sexual harassment against vulnerable groups.

On 16 December, 2012, a 23-year old woman and her friend hailed a bus at a crossing in South Delhi. In the bus, they were both brutally attacked by a group of men who claimed to be out on a ‘joy-ride’. The woman was gang raped and the man beaten up; after several hours, they were both stripped and dumped on the road. While the young woman is still in hospital, bravely battling for her life, her friend has been discharged and is helping identify the men responsible for the heinous crime.

 

We, the undersigned, women’s, students’ and progressive groups and concerned citizens from around the country, are outraged at this incident and, in very strong terms, condemn her gang rape and the physical and sexual assault.

 

As our protests spill over to the streets all across the country, our demands for justice are strengthened by knowing that there are countless others who share this anger. We assert that rape and other forms of sexual violence are not just a women’s issue, but a political one that should concern every citizen. We strongly demand that justice is done in this and all other cases and the perpetrators are punished.

 

This incident is not an isolated one; sexual assault occurs with frightening regularity in this country. Adivasi and dalit women and those working in the unorganised sector, women with disabilities, hijras, kothis, trans people and sex workers are especially targeted with impunity – it is well known that the complaints of sexual assault they file are simply disregarded. We urge that the wheels of justice turn not only to incidents such as the Delhi bus case, but to the epidemic of sexual violence that threatens all of us. We need to evolve punishments that act as true deterrents to the very large number of men who commit these crimes. Our stance is not anti-punishment but against the State executing the death penalty. The fact that cases of rape have a conviction rate of as low as 26% shows that perpetrators of sexual violence enjoy a high degree of impunity, including being freed of charges.

 

Silent witnesses to everyday forms of sexual assault such as leering, groping, passing comments, stalking and whistling are equally responsible for rape being embedded in our culture and hence being so prevalent today. We, therefore, also condemn the culture of silence and tolerance for sexual assault and the culture of valorising this kind of violence.

 

We also reject voices that are ready to imprison and control women and girls under the garb of ‘safety’, instead of ensuring their freedom as equal participants in society and their right to a life free of perpetual threats of sexual assault, both inside and outside their homes.

 

In cases (like this) which have lead to a huge public outcry all across the country, and where the perpetrators have been caught, we hope that justice will be speedily served and they will be convicted for the ghastly acts that they have committed. However, our vision of this justice does not include death penalty, which is neither a deterrent nor an effective or ethical response to these acts of sexual violence. We are opposed to it for the following reasons:

 

  1. We recognise that every human being has a right to life. Our rage cannot give way to what are, in no uncertain terms, new cycles of violence. We refuse to deem ‘legitimate’ any act of violence that would give the State the right to take life in our names. Justice meted by the State cannot bypass complex socio-political questions of violence against women by punishing rapists by death. Death penalty is often used to distract attention away from the real issue – it changes nothing but becomes a tool in the hands of the State to further exert its power over its citizens. A huge set of changes are required in the system to end the widespread and daily culture of rape.

 

  1. There is no evidence to suggest that the death penalty acts as a deterrent to rape. Available data shows that there is a low rate of conviction in rape cases and a strong possibility that the death penalty would lower this conviction rate even further as it is awarded only under the ‘rarest of rare’ circumstances. The most important factor that can act as a deterrent is the certainty of punishment, rather than the severity of its form.

 

  1. As seen in countries like the US, men from minority communities make up a disproportionate number of death row inmates. In the context of India, a review of crimes that warrant capital punishment reveals the discriminatory way in which such laws are selectively and arbitrarily applied to disadvantaged communities, religious and ethnic minorities. This is a real and major concern, as the possibility of differential consequences for the same crime is injustice in itself.

 

  1. The logic of awarding death penalty to rapists is based on the belief that rape is a fate worse than death. Patriarchal notions of ‘honour’ lead us to believe that rape is the worst thing that can happen to a woman. There is a need to strongly challenge this stereotype of the ‘destroyed’ woman who loses her honour and who has no place in society after she’s been sexually assaulted. We believe that rape is tool of patriarchy, an act of violence, and has nothing to do with morality, character or behaviour.

 

  1. An overwhelming number of women are sexually assaulted by people known to them, and often include near or distant family, friends and partners. Who will be able to face the psychological and social trauma of having reported against their own relatives? Would marital rape (currently not recognised by law), even conceptually, ever be looked at through the same retributive prism?

 

  1. The State often reserves for itself the ‘right to kill’ — through the armed forces, the paramilitary and the police. We cannot forget the torture, rape and murder of Thangjam Manorama by the Assam Rifles in Manipur in 2004 or the abduction, gang rape and murder of Neelofar and Aasiya of Shopian (Kashmir) in 2009. Giving more powers to the State, whether arming the police and giving them the right to shoot at sight or awarding capital punishment, is not a viable solution to lessen the incidence of crime.

Furthermore, with death penalty at stake, the ‘guardians of the law’ will make sure that no complaints against them get registered and they will go to any length to make sure that justice does not see the light of day. The ordeal of Soni Sori, who had been tortured in police custody last year, still continues her fight from inside a prison in Chattisgarh, in spite of widespread publicity around her torture.

 

  1. As we know, in cases of sexual assault where the perpetrator is in a position of power (such as in cases of custodial rape or caste and communal violence), conviction is notoriously difficult. The death penalty, for reasons that have already been mentioned, would make conviction next to impossible.

 

We, the undersigned, demand the following:

 

  • Greater dignity, equality, autonomy and rights for women and girls from a society that should stop questioning and policing their actions at every step.

 

  • Immediate relief in terms of legal, medical, financial and psychological assistance and long-term rehabilitation measures must be provided to survivors of sexual assault.

 

  • Provision of improved infrastructure to make cities safer for women, including well-lit pavements and bus stops, help lines and emergency services.

 

  • Effective registration, monitoring and regulation of transport services (whether public, private or contractual) to make them safe, accessible and available to all.

 

  • Compulsory courses within the training curriculum on gender sensitisation for all personnel employed and engaged by the State in its various institutions, including the police.

 

  • That the police do its duty to ensure that public spaces are free from harassment, molestation and assault. This means that they themselves have to stop sexually assaulting women who come to make complaints. They have to register all FIRs and attend to complaints. CCTV cameras should be set up in all police stations and swift action must be taken against errant police personnel.

 

  • Immediate setting up of fast track courts for rape and other forms of sexual violence all across the country. State governments should operationalise their creation on a priority basis. Sentencing should be done within a period of six months.

 

  • The National Commission for Women has time and again proved itself to be an institution that works against the interests of women. NCW’s inability to fulfil its mandate of addressing issues of violence against women, the problematic nature of the statements made by the Chairperson and its sheer inertia in many serious situations warrants that the NCW role be reviewed and audited as soon as possible.

 

  • The State acknowledges the reality of custodial violence against women in many parts of the country, especially in Kashmir, North-East and Chhattisgarh. There are several pending cases and immediate action should be taken by the government to punish the guilty and to ensure that these incidents of violence are not allowed to be repeated.

 

  • Regarding the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill 2012, women’s groups have already submitted detailed recommendations to the Home Ministry. We strongly underline that the Bill must not be passed in its current form because of its many serious loopholes and lacuna. Some points:

 

–      There has been no amendment to the flawed definition of consent under Sec 375IPC and this has worked against the interest of justice for women.

 

–      The formulation of the crime of sexual assault as gender neutral makes the identity of the perpetrator/accused also gender neutral. We demand that the definition of perpetrator be gender-specific and limited to men. Sexual violence also targets transgender people and legal reform must address this.

 

–      In its current form, the Bill does not recognise the structural and graded nature of sexual assault, based on concepts of hurt, harm, injury, humiliation and degradation. The Bill also does not use well-established categories of sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault and sexual offences.

 

–      It does not mention sexual assault by security forces as a specific category of aggravated sexual assault. We strongly recommend the inclusion of perpetration of sexual assault by security forces under Sec 376(2).

 

Date: 05/01/2012

 

Endorsed by the following groups and individuals:

 

  1. Citizens’ Collective against Sexual Assault (CCSA)
  2. Purnima, Nirantar, New Delhi
  3. Sandhya Gokhale, Forum Against Oppression of Women, Bombay
  4. Deepti, Saheli, Delhi
  5. Mary John, Centre for Women’s Development Studies (CWDS), New Delhi
  6. Jagori, Delhi
  7. Vimochana, Bangalore
  8. Lokesh, Stree Mukti Sanghathan, Delhi
  9. Madhya Pradesh Mahila Manch

10. Maitreyi Gupta, Lawyers Collective, New Delhi

11. Kavita Krishnan, AIPWA, New Delhi

12. Anuradha Kapoor ,Swayam, Calcutta

13. People’s Union for Democratic Rights PUDR

14. Indira, Women against Sexual Violence and State Repression, (WSS), New Delhi

15. Kavita Srivastav, PUCL

16. Padma Deosthali, CEHAT, Mumbai

17. Partners for Law in Development, New Delhi

18. Kalpana Mehta, Manasi Swasthya Sansthan, Indore

19. Nandita Gandhi, Akshara, Bombay

20. AALI (Association for Advocacy and Legal Initiatives), Lucknow

21. National Alliance of people’s Movements (NAPM)

22. Mallika, Maati, Uttarakhand

23. Meena Saraswathi Seshu, SANGRAM, Sangli

24. Zubaan, New Delhi

25. Indrani Sinha, Sanlaap, Calcutta

26. GRAMEENA MAHILA Okkutta, Karnataka

27. WinG Assam

28. Arati Chokshi, PUCL, Bangalore.

29. Action India, Delhi

30. North East Network (NEN)

31. National Network Of Sex Workers NNSW

32. Majlis Law, Legal Services for Women, Mumbai

33. Sahiayar (Stree Sangathan), Vadodara

34. National Federation of Indian Women

35. Vasanth Kannabiran (NAWO, AP) Asmita

36. Sheba George, SAHRWARU, Ahmedabad

37. Anandi, Gujarat

38. Medha Kotwal, Aalochana, Pune

39. Sakhi Women’s Resource Centre, Kerala

40. SAMYAK, Pune

41. Shabana Kazi, VAMP, Sangli

42. Sruti disAbility Rights Centre, Kolkata

43. Forum to Engage Men (FEM), New Delhi

44. MASVAW( Men Action for stopping Violence Against Women), UP

45. YP Foundation

46. Breakthrough, New Delhi

47. V Rukmini Rao, Gramya Resource Centre for Women, Secunderabad

48. LABIA, a queer feminist LBT collective, Mumbai

49. Law Trust, Tamil Nadu

50. Men’s Action to Stop Violence against Women (MASVAW), UP

51. National Forum for Single Women’s Rights

52. NAWO-AP, Arunachal Pradesh Women’s Welfare Society (APWWS)

53. Indigenous Women’s Resource Centre (IWRC)

54. New Socialist Initiative, Delhi

55. Gabriele Dietrich, Pennurimai Iyakkam

56. Sangat, a South Asian Feminist Network

57. Stree Mukti Sanghatana, Mumbai

58. SWATI, Ahmedabad

59. Tamil Nadu Women Fish Workers Forum

60. Subhash Mendhapurkar,SUTRA, H.P.

61. Mario, Nigah, queer collective, New Delhi

62. Sushma Varma, Samanatha Mahila Vedike, Bangalore

63. Mahila Sarvangeen Utkarsh Mandal (MASUM), Pune

64. Priti Darooka, PWESCR (The Programme on Women’s Economic, Social and Cultural Rights), New Delhi

65. Pushpa Achanta (WSS, Karnataka)

66. AWN, Kabul

67. AZAD and Sakha Team, Delhi

68. Ekta, Madurai

69. Empower People

70. Society for Women’s action and Training Initiatives-SWATI

71. Centre for Health and Social Justice

72. All India Network of Sex Workers (AINSW)

73. Qashti: A support group for LBT people assigned female at birth

74. Deep Sonpal, UNNATI Organisation for Development Education

75. Gautam Bandyopadhyay, Nadi Ghati Morcha, Chhattisgarh

76. Women’s Welfare Center, Pune

77. Dolon Ganguly, Jeevika Development Society

78. Sangini (I) Trust

79. Parichiti – A Society for Empowermnet of Women

80. Minu Sud, Simla

81. Maya Ratnam, Baltimore, MD, United States

82. Diane Smith, Hornby Island, Canada

83. Ramlath Kavil

84. carmen urbín, Spain

85. Kochurani Abraham

86. Georgie Wemyss, London, United Kingdom

87. Sonali Gulati, Richmond, VA, United States

88. Ruchi Chaturvedi, South Africa

89. Nandini Manjrekar

90. Poulomi Pal

91. Juhi Agrawal, London, United Kingdom

92. Nandini Ghosh

93. shreya S

94. Varuni Bhatia, Ann Arbor, MI, United States

95. Ellen Sprenger, Johannesburg, South Africa

96. Sumita Chatterjee, Miami, FL, United States

97. Giovanna Pompele, Miami, FL, United States

98. Abhay Kashalkar

99. Monisha Dhingra

  1. swatija paranjpe
  2. Ribhav Dhingra
  3. jayesh jaidka, New Delhi
  4. Kanwaljit Khurana, Australia
  5. Pooja Gupta
  6. Abha Khetarpal
  7. Pawan Kumar
  8. Smriti Nevatia
  9. amol ranjan
  10. Manisha Sethi
  11. Manoj Bisani
  12. Divya S Sarathy
  13. Malini Chakravarty
  14. Pyoli Swatija
  15. Ayushi Saxena
  16. Preethi Krishnan, West Lafayette, United States
  17. Pothik Ghosh
  18. Usha  Raman
  19. suchismita chattopadhyay
  20. Vanmala Vachani
  21. Nitya Menon
  22. Rishika Gupta
  23. Swarna Rajagopalan
  24. SUJATA KHANDEKAR
  25. Ruchi Yadav
  26. Proshant Chakraborty
  27. Ajit Kumar
  28. Sumita Thapar
  29. Nalini Visvanathan, Washington, DC, United States
  30. Sandhya Rao
  31. Saikat Ghosh
  32. Azeema Vogeler, Honolulu, HI, United States
  33. Anuradha Prasad
  34. Ratna Sudarshan
  35. Hema Sekhar, Bangalore,
  36. Aradhana Sharma, Middletown, CT, United States
  37. Sandhya Ahuja
  38. ASHISH KUMAR DEY
  39. V VIJAYAKUMAR
  40. Shernaz Italia, New Delhi
  41. Lalita Ramdas
  42. Salita Naik
  43. Ahamed Raza, Hanford, CA, United States
  44. Shyamjyoti Saikia
  45. Afrah Abdulmughni
  46. Zoya Akthar
  47. Aparna Datta
  48. Kazim Khan, London, United Kingdom
  49. Nandita Bhatla
  50. Samia Vasa
  51. Arantxa Bharatiya, Pune
  52. Jaya Rose
  53. Lester Coutinho, Faridabad, Haryana, CA,
  54. Julia Hard, London, United Kingdom
  55. Seela M Mahapatra, New Delhi
  56. krishna Menon
  57. neetika vishwanath
  58. Khushboo Jain
  59. Avijit Michael
  60. Sucheta Bhattacharya, kolkata
  61. Pankaj Jha
  62. PRIYANKA SISODIYA
  63. Chetan Kumria Taipei, Taiwan
  64. Sreekala MG
  65. Vasudha Pande
  66. Kelly Lyon, United States
  67. Kanan Puntambekar
  68. Kumkum Roy
  69. Tushar Shah
  70. Meenakshi Malhotra
  71. Jigna Kothari
  72. garima shrivastava
  73. Neelima Aryan, Bangalore
  74. Mridu Kamal
  75. anusha lall
  76. Sangeetha Purushothaman
  77. Rita Thapa, kathmandu, Nepal
  78. Swati Sahi
  79. Lata Singh
  80. Nupur Amarnath, New Delhi,
  81. Sister Philomina, WWC, Pune
  82. Tej Prakash
  83. Prabita Chandran, Redmond, WA, United States
  84. Antonia McGuire, Boston, United Kingdom
  85. Vinaya More, Mumbai
  86. Anurag Acharya, Kathmandu, Nepal
  87. Shreya Sanghani, London, United Kingdom
  88. Rajender Negi
  89. Shilpi Bhattacharya
  90. Karthika Vijayan
  91. Meher Rehman
  92. Anubha Shukla
  93. Ratna Manjari
  94. benu mohanlal
  95. Ajay Cadambi
  96. Jaiprakash Taparia
  97. Rukmini Sen
  98. Sneha Banerjee
  99. Bhagyashri Mundhe
  100. Maya Shanker
  101. Jharna Pathak
  102. Bindu Menon
  103. Preetha Nair
  104. Amita Verma, American Samoa
  105. Gummy mug
  106. Afifa Azim, Afghan Women Network (AWN), Kabul, Afghanistan
  107. Purnima Gupta
  108. Nalini Varshney
  109. Arnaz Irani, Mumbai
  110. Apoorva Kaiwar
  111. Indu MG
  112. Sadia Saeed
  113. Saradamoni K
  114. Jahnvi Andharia
  115. Vinamarata Kaur
  116. Seema Srivastava
  117. indu prakash singh
  118. Ankush Das
  119. Deepa Sonpal
  120. Sangita Dasgupta
  121. Priyanka Sarkar
  122. Sanchali Sarkar
  123. pratibha dmello, Delhi
  124. Aman Khot
  125. adele tulli, United Kingdom
  126. Ruchi Tripathi, Tonbridge, United Kingdom
  127. Ayeshaa Sinha
  128. Tejaswini Niranjana
  129. Nupur Sanyal
  130. Dharmen Shah
  131. abhay singh
  132. Asha G
  133. Anima Sanyal
  134. Kartika Suhag, Gurgaons
  135. Sarmistha Dutta Gupta
  136. Chhaya Datar
  137. Savita Kulkarni
  138. Beenu Rawat
  139. Susheela Singh
  140. desai rashesh
  141. Alagar Gandimathi
  142. Krishna Kant
  143. Saurabh Nautiyal
  144. Rajoshi Nagchaudhuri, New Westminster, Canada
  145. Urvashi Chauhan
  146. Michelle Harrison
  147. Arpita Chatterjee
  148. Retu Singh
  149. Joy Tnjoy
  150. Rocky Schnaath        Oakland, CA, United States
  151. Eva Droetto, Göteborg, Sweden
  152. Udaya Kumar, New Delhi
  153. Pragna Patel, London, United Kingdom
  154. George Pulikuthiyil
  155. Dr. Jyotsna Chatterji
  156. Maninya M
  157. Siddharth Govindan
  158. mukesh RAWAT
  159. noorani mallick
  160. Ritika Ganguly, Guilderland, NY, United States
  161. shweta mahajan
  162. Beena Rehman, Delhi
  163. Srijeeta Mitra
  164. Anjali Monteiro
  165. Prtiesh Shah, Clinton, NJ, United States
  166. Ajitha Kunnikkal
  167. nalini menon
  168. Sunil D’Monte
  169. meenal chaudhari, United States
  170. shabana nessen, United States
  171. Muneeza Inam, United Kingdom
  172. Pradeep Esteves
  173. Shiney Varghese, Minneapolis, MN, United States
  174. Leila Fitton Bath, United Kingdom
  175. Dhrubo Jyoti
  176. Rahila Gupta, London, United Kingdom
  177. ADRIAN PARKER       boston, United Kingdom
  178. Murray Culshaw, Bangalore
  179. Krishnakant Chauhan
  180. Anil Karihaloo, cheshire, CT, United States
  181. indira balan
  182. S Ismail, London, CA, United States
  183. andrew gurevich, Gresham, OR, United States
  184. Ravi Chopra
  185. Namrata Sharma, Kathmandu, Nepal
  186. K M Venugopalan
  187. Anuradha Ramanujan
  188. Ana Guedes, Matosinhos, Portugal
  189. Chitra Ramanujan
  190. Sushmita Mukherjee
  191. Ginny Shrivastava, Udaipur, Rajasthan
  192. Biswa Ranjan Patnaik
  193. Bindu Amat
  194. Arun Jindal
  195. Sr.Flora Mary
  196. Balaraman Kuttamath Kunniyur
  197. Anindita Roy
  198. Sushmita Mandal
  199. Sumathi Rao
  200. Rohan DSouza
  201. Gauri Nigudkar
  202. Nidhi Shendurnikar
  203. Shalini Mahajan
  204. Amitangshu Acharya
  205. Janki Andharia
  206. puloma pal
  207. Sampoorna India A Network of Trans* Indians
  208. Sumeet Sharma
  209. Ishita Chaudhry
  210. suvanwita saha
  211. Ajth Kumar
  212. Drishadwati Bargi
  213. Muhammad Vapiwalla, Essex, United Kingdom
  214. Rukmini Dey
  215. Siddhartha Chatterjee
  216. Reshma R
  217. Smriti Acharya
  218. Rajlakshmi Iyengar
  219. Anuradha Nambiar
  220. Archana Khare Ghose
  221. Abbas Rohawala
  222. Anne Philpott, London
  223. Jaya Menon
  224. Anindya Bandyopadhyay
  225. Aditi Mehta, Indore
  226. Pallavi Gupta
  227. Sandhya P C
  228. Limnesh Augustine
  229. Vignesh Manjeshwar
  230. Sreya Chatterjee
  231. Liansangpuia Chhakchhuak
  232. Akhilesh Mattoo
  233. Chaitra Chandapillai
  234. shivangi puri
  235. Anya Gupta
  236. Krishna Das
  237. JAnet Price, Lpool, United Kingdom
  238. Ajith Kumar
  239. Suneetha Achyuta
  240. shereen bhan, atlanta, Puerto Rico
  241. Srila Roy, Nottingham, United Kingdom
  242. JAYASHREE KHIRE
  243. Uma Ravikumar
  244. Eddie Bruce-Jones, London, United Kingdom
  245. Suresh K Dubai, United Arab Emirates
  246. Pallabi Chakravorty, Wynnewood, PA, United States
  247. Sheila Shulman         London, United Kingdom
  248. lalit jha, Cypress, TX, United States
  249. Sikander Bhana, Birmingham, United Kingdom
  250. Shraddha Chatterjee
  251. Sheba George
  252. Simrita Gopal Singh, Pune
  253. Radha Misra
  254. Amit Baishya, Muncie, IN, United States
  255. Juhi Bhasin
  256. Ragini Deshpande
  257. Celeste Gurevich, Portland, OR, United States
  258. Amlan Das Gupta
  259. Anjum Rajabali
  260. Namita Kohli, austin, TX, United States
  261. Louise Banerjei, Mumbai
  262. Vahista Dastoor
  263. Arundhati Dhuru
  264. Poonam Muttreja
  265. Maria Paladino Eugene, United States
  266. Papiya Banerjee
  267. Sudhamani N
  268. Sheena Kanwar, New Delhi
  269. ilham khan
  270. Malati Roy
  271. Anita Anand
  272. Rita Manchanda
  273. Subha Dasgupta
  274. Kobyum Zirdo
  275. Himanshu Pandya
  276. Abrity Basu
  277. Shruti, PhD, JNU
  278. Sutapa Chakraborty ,Behala keertika
  279. Sarmistha Dutta Gupta ,Sachetana and Ebong Alap, Kolkata
  280. Madhupurna GhoshJt. Secretary Sutanutir Sakhya
  281. Swati Chatterjee, South Kolkata Sannidhya
  282. Sonali Banerjee, Sanlaap, Kolkata
  283. Rajashree Dasgupta
  284. Devyani Bhardwaj
  285. Anwesha Haldar
  286. Pragnya Joshi
  287. Saptarshi Mandal, Legal Researcher, New Delhi
  288. Reya Mozumdar, New Delhi
  289. Sabitha. T. P.,University College London
  290. Philip Vinod Peacock, Bishop’s College
  291. Ananya Sarkar
  292. Trina Nileena Banerjee, School of Arts and Aesthetics, JNU.
  293. Satish Kumar Singh
  294. Rita Thapa, Nepal
  295. Lakshmi Premkumar, New Delhi
  296. Sourangshu Banerjee ,Executive, PRADAN
  297. Anubhuti Sharma
  298. Ratna Raman
  299. P.P. Verma, Jharkhand Alternative Development Forum, Ranchi, Jharkhand
  300. Shilpa Phadke
  301. Mini Matthew, advocate.
  302. Kriti Team, New delhi
  303. Shweta Vachani
  304. Neha Kagal
  305. Sophia Khan, Gender & Legal Consultant, Gujarat
  306. CFAR
  307. Chayya Datar
  308. Jarjum Ete ,Spokesperson, Arunachal Pradesh Women’s Welfare Society
  309. Preetha Nair, Journalist
  310. Pramada Menon
  311. GEETA SESHU
  312. Sangeeta Chatterji
  313. shashi khurana
  314. Shruti Arora
  315. Ratna Appnender
  316. neha kagal, london, United Kingdom
  317. Amrita Shodhan, London, United Kingdom
  318. beena JP
  319. Amrita Chhachhi, New Delhi,
  320. Ila Patlolla, brighton, United Kingdom
  321. ponni arasu, New Delhi
  322. Hamsini Ravi, Brighton, United Kingdom
  323. Supriya Madangarli
  324. Ulrike M. Vieten, Leeds, United Kingdom
  325. Geetanjali Gangoli, Bristol, United Kingdom
  326. Ambika Nair
  327. G Arunima
  328. Kabi S
  329. Madhvi Zutshi
  330. Rachit Barak
  331. dhanu swadi
  332. Anney Unnikrishnan
  333. Mansi Sharma
  334. Seema Mustafa
  335. Imrana Qadeer
  336. Kabir
  337. Sharmila Rege, Pune
  338. Anna George, New Delhi
  339. Sheba Chhachhi
  340. Ayesha Kidwai, JNU
  341. Prakash Burte, freelance journalist
  342. ICAN
  343. Dhiviya David
  344. DidiBahini
  345. Deepa
  346. Sonali Khan
  347. Subhash Mohapatra
  348. Sapana Pradhan Malla, Nepal
  349. Prajanya
  350. Gargi Chakravartty
  351. Koninika Ray
  352. Ranjana Ray
  353. Vrinda Grover
  354. Chayanika Shah, Bombay
  355. Aruna Roy
  356. Kalyani Menon-Sen, Feminist Learning Partnerships, Gurgaon
  357. Nandini Rao
  358. Pratiksha Baxi
  359. Amrita Nandy
  360. Farah Naqvi, Writer & Activist, Delhi
  361. Nivedita Menon
  362. Urvashi Butalia
  363. Kaveri R I, Bengaluru
  364. Dunu Roy
  365. Harsh Mander
  366. Anil TV
  367. Laxmi Murthy, Journalist, Bangalore
  368. Rahul Roy
  369. Rituparna Borah, queer feminist activist
  370. Ranjana Padhi, New Delhi
  371. Trupti Shah, Vadodara, Gujarat
  372. Sudha Bharadwaj
  373. Annie Raja
  374. Veena Shatrugna,  Hyderabad
  375. Vani Subramanian, New Delhi,
  376. Kamayani Bali Mahabal
  377. Kiran Shaheen, Journalist and activist
  378. Lesley A Esteves, journalist, New Delhi
  379. Abha Bhaiya
  380. Aditi Malhotra
  381. devangana kalita, assam
  382. Aruna Burte
  383. Anita Ghai
  384. Mohan Rao, New Delhi
  385. Rakhi Sehgal, New Delhi
  386. Geetha Nambisan
  387. Charan Singh, New Delhi
  388. Manjima Bhattacharjya
  389. Jinee Lokaneeta,Associate professor, Drew University, Madison, NJ
  390. Kavita Panjabi, Jadavpur University, Kolkata
  391. Albertina Almeida, Goa
  392. Satyajit Rath, New Delhi
  393. Prerna Sud, New Delhi
  394. Priya Sen, New Delhi
  395. Aarthi Pai, Bangalore
  396. Kalpana Vishwanath, Gurgaon
  397. Aisha K. Gill, Reader in Criminology, University of Roehampton, London
  398. Ammu Abraham, Mumbai
  399. Anagha Sarpotdar, Activist and PhD Student, Mumbai
  400. Anand Pawar
  401. Anuradha Marwah, Ajmer Adult Education Association (AAEA), Ajmer
  402. Asha Ramesh, activist/researcher/consultant
  403. Bondita
  404. Gauri Gill, New delhi
  405. Sophia Khan, Gender & Legal Consultant, Gujarat
  406. Niranjani Iyer, Chennai
  407. Dyuti Ailawadi
  408. Gandimathi Alagar
  409. Gayatri Buragohain – Feminist Approach to Technology (FAT), New Delhi
  410. Geetha Nambisan, Delhi
  411. Sadhna Arya, New Delhi
  412. Vineeta Bal, New Delhi
  413. Suneeta Dhar
  414. Geeta Ramaseshan, Advocate, Chennai
  415. Sonal Sharma, New Delhi
  416. Anusha Hariharan, Delhi/Chennai
  417. Jayasree.A.K,
  418. Gautam Bhan, New Delhi
  419. Jayasree Subramanian, TISS, Hyderabad
  420. Jhuma Sen, Advocate, Supreme Court
  421. Teena Gill, New Delhi
  422. Kannamma Raman
  423. Karuna D W
  424. Kavita Panjabi
  425. Shalini Krishan, New Delhi
  426. Lalita Ramdas, Secunderabad
  427. Manasi Pingle
  428. Madhumita Dutta, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
  429. Manoj Mitta
  430. Pamela Philipose
  431. Parul Chaudhary
  432. Preethi Herman
  433. Sunil Gupta, New Delhi
  434. Radha Khan
  435. Rama Vedula
  436. Rebecca John
  437. Renu Khanna, SAHAJ
  438. Rohini Hensman (Writer and Activist, Bombay)
  439. Rohit Prajapati, Environmental activist, Gujarat
  440. Roshmi Goswami
  441. Shipra Nigam, Consultant Economist, Research and Information Systems, New Delhi
  442. Shipra Deo, Agribusiness Systems International Vamshakti, Pratapgarh
  443. Rukmini Datta
  444. Sridala Swami
  445. Sarba Raj Khadka, Kathmandu
  446. Satish K. Singh, CHSJ
  447. Shinkai Karokhail, from the Afghanistan Parliament
  448. Sima Samar, Kabul
  449. Smita Singh, FTII, Pune
  450. Subhalakshmi Nandi
  451. Sujata Gothoskar
  452. Swar Thounaojam
  453. Inayat Sabhikhi
  454. Jaya Vindhyala, Hyderabad
  455. Sukrit Chandhoke
  456. Svati Shah, South Asia Solidarity Initiative, NY, United States
  457. Anand Bhaiya
  458. Prabha N
  459. Nisha Biswas
  460. Pramodini Pradhan
  461. Chitra Panikkar
  462. Paroma Ray, Singapore
  463. Ketaki Chowkhani
  464. Shivani Gupta
  465. Brinda Bose
  466. Arunava Sinha
  467. neha chaturvedi
  468. Suchi Kushwah, New Delhi
  469. Kriti Budhiraja
  470. Indra Sengupta, London, United Kingdom
  471. Vineet Nagrath
  472. Ashley Tellis
  473. Barbara Holtmann, Randburg, South Africa
  474. Sushobha Barve
  475. shishir chandra
  476. Charusmita Gadekar
  477. Vasvi Oza
  478. Manisha Pathania
  479. rajashree gandhi
  480. Debarati Halder, Centre for Cyber Victim Counselling
  481. Malini Krishnankutty
  482. vandana mahajan
  483. Anup Dhar
  484. Anubha Sood, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
  485. Shrutipriya Dalmia
  486. Soumya Chattopadhyay
  487. Ravi Verma
  488. Rahul Mishra
  489. Nandini Sundar
  490. Leslie Jogi, Cape Town, South Africa
  491. Ritu Priya
  492. Hitakshi Sehgal
  493. Dwijen Rangnekar, Coventry, United Kingdom
  494. Mane Kumria, London, United Kingdom
  495. Sara Ortiz Escalante, Spain
  496. Mohini Sharm
  497. Ravindran Sriramachandran, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
  498. Vinita Bhatia
  499. mohan dharavath
  500. Mythri Prasad
  501. Shreya K
  502. Harish Tharayil
  503. Binita Pandya
  504. Shrikant Wad
  505. zaida muxi, barcelona, Spain
  506. Tarang Mahajan
  507. Snigdha Gupta
  508. renu rajbhandari, kathmandu, Nepal
  509. Himakshi Piplani
  510. Janani Sekhar
  511. Swapnil Gupta, New Haven, CT, United States
  512. Shraddha Chickerur
  513. Gitanjali S
  514. Bishakha Bhanja
  515. Sharmishtha Bose
  516. Maya Ganesh
  517. Anand Kumria, london United Kingdom
  518. Meera Joshi
  519. William Toscano, Minneapolis, MN, United States
  520. Priyadarshini Rajagopalan
  521. Koonal Duggal, Hyderabad
  522. sulbha jagat
  523. Jayaram N.
  524. Sudha N, Bangalore
  525. Arti Maddali
  526. Poushali Basak
  527. Dhivya Sivaramane
  528. Aashita Jain
  529. Archita Bhuyan
  530. Maja Raicevic, Podgorica, Montenegro
  531. Sandya Hewamanne, Winston Salem, NC, United States
  532. Ellora Puri
  533. Pooja Das Sarkar
  534. Uma KP
  535. sushmita pati
  536. Sudha Venkataramachar
  537. Roli Khattri, United States
  538. Radhika Balakrishnan, New York, NY, United States
  539. Abhishek Srivastava
  540. Vivek Pathak
  541. srirupa Prasad, United States
  542. Rajan Kurai Krishnan
  543. Geetanjali Khanna
  544. Purwa Bharadwaj
  545. Jayita Roy, Moscow
  546. Seema Aroram, United States
  547. Shreya Sen, Kolkata, West Bengal
  548. Sourya Majumder
  549. Subhajit Das
  550. Moulshree Shukla
  551. Nithila Kanagasabai
  552. Sumit Chavan
  553. Manisha Gupte, Pune
  554. Ishita Ghosh, Palo Alto, CA, United States
  555. Bimla Chandrasekar
  556. Dilkash Kapur
  557. Abanti Dutta
  558. Abe Hayeem, Edgware, United Kingdom
  559. John Meghen, Bedford, United Kingdom
  560. Ritu Mahendru, london, United Kingdom
  561. Yamini Atmavilas
  562. Lakshmi Menon
  563. Anupama Raj
  564. RK Bhardwaj
  565. Runu Chakraborty, Uttar Pradesh,
  566. Prabhakar Sonparote, Gurnee, IL, United States Minor Outlying Islands
  567. Beulah Azariah
  568. cijo joy
  569. K.S.Sebastian Kandathil
  570. Shuchi Vora, Mumbai
  571. Rima Kashyap
  572. nevin thomas
  573. PANKTI JOG
  574. CK Ramachandran, Calicut,
  575. Philarisa Sarma Nongpiur
  576. Ciby James
  577. Kripa Basnyat, Kathmandu, Nepal
  578. Prasad Chacko
  579. Monika Walia
  580. Women for Human Rights single women group, Nepal
  581. Ammel Sharon
  582. Sudipta Mukhopadhyay
  583. Vinod Srinivasan, Guilderland, NY, United States
  584. M. Shankar
  585. Archana Shrivastava
  586. Khurshid Anwar
  587. Juhi Gautam
  588. nabanita bhattacharyya
  589. KURAPATI SRINIVAS
  590. Sunayana Walia
  591. Abhijit Das
  592. Anuja K
  593. Smitha Francis
  594. Anushree Tapadar
  595. MINAKSHI SANYAL
  596. Deepanwita Dutta
  597. shivangi jaiswal
  598. Hemal Shroff
  599. jishnu sadasivan
  600. BURNAD FATHIMA NATESAN
  601. Jayati Ghosh
  602. Sumathi Murthy
  603. Sheba Tejani
  604. Ruhi Gautam
  605. Juhi Jain
  606. Maya Valecha
  607. meera visvanathan
  608. azra siddiqui
  609. Urvashi Gandhi
  610. Anamika Bhattacharya
  611. Oishik Sircar, Australia
  612. Meenal Kannan
  613. Geeta Charusivam
  614. Shikha Sultan
  615. Anchita Ghatak, Kolkata
  616. Ruma Nguri
  617. Atiya Bose
  618. Amrita Nag
  619. karken riba, itanagar
  620. Eps Greenheads, Itanagar
  621. Gargie Bhattacharya
  622. Samantak Das
  623. NGULI DABI
  624. Sukumar Ray
  625. Rolly Shivhare
  626. Rupsa Nath
  627. Arijita Pal
  628. Deepa V M
  629. niti deoliya
  630. Patricia Mukhim
  631. Shilpi Aggarwal
  632. Shankar Tayung Jonai, Social Activist
  633. milli ossin
  634. Subhrajeet Chakraborty
  635. Nafisa Barot
  636. Madhu Menon
  637. Habung Dunya
  638. urmila unnikrishnan
  639. Hage Umpi
  640. Madhuja Mukherjee
  641. Anitha Sunil
  642. Probal Dasgupta
  643. Farah Batool
  644. Kousalya PWN
  645. Gurjeet Kaur
  646. Suparna Gupta
  647. Pereena Lamba, Mumbai,
  648. Budhaditya Das
  649. We Community Action Network VCAN
  650. josephine joseph
  651. RIMPLE MEHTA, KOLKATA,
  652. Salim Khalid, Gujranwala, Pakistan
  653. Joram Ruth
  654. Weeny Lisa
  655. lipi karso
  656. Shivshankar Menon
  657. Priya Agrawal
  658. tenzin dorjee
  659. ujjayini ray
  660. Neeti Daftari
  661. RIME NGULOM
  662. Aarif Saiyed, London, United Kingdom
  663. Dr Gita Bharali, United States
  664. Aban confectioner
  665. vikas kumar
  666. Joti Sekhon, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
  667. madhabi maity
  668. Radha Bhatt, London, United Kingdom
  669. susana barria
  670. Amiya Dev
  671. Arindam Ghatak
  672. Kamlesh Oza
  673. Usman Jawed
  674. Shawn Fontain, Elmira, OR, United States
  675. Shweta Radhakrishnan
  676. Carole Spary, York, United Kingdom
  677. Andy  Lee, Los Angeles, CA, United States
  678. Revathi Narayanan
  679. Aatreyee Sen
  680. Ajay T Edison, NJ, United States
  681. Moitreyee Mitra
  682. Prasad Pannian
  683. Bindu Balan, Puducherry
  684. Sasikala Ravichandran
  685. Uma Ramakrishnan
  686. Sudha Balakrishnan
  687. Elsie Roy
  688. Subadra Murthy
  689. Raheema Begam
  690. Raziya begam
  691. Jyothi Sambhani, Southampton, United Kingdom
  692. Urmi Duggal
  693. Vidya Lakshmi, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
  694. Nandita Basu
  695. Ram Mahalingam, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
  696. baisali mohanty
  697. Ujjwal Singh
  698. Anupama Roy
  699. Preethi Mohan, Ajman, United Arab Emirates
  700. Lalitha Devaradjy, Rochester Hills, MI, United States
  701. Joshina Ramakrishnan
  702. Onni Gust, Northampton, MA, United States
  703. preeti chauhan
  704. Yuki Hibben, Richmond, VA, United States
  705. Poorvi B
  706. LM Ishiguro, Vancouver, Canada
  707. Sanjukta Sunderason, Leiden, Netherlands
  708. Uditi Sen
  709. Soraya Victoria         France
  710. Priyanka Srivastava, Northampton, MA, United States
  711. Shrinkhla Agrawal, Mishawaka, IN, United States
  712. Deepti Tandon
  713. KhushI Kabir, Dhaka, Bangladesh
  714. Zarina Kabir, Stockholm, Sweden
  715. Pallavi Choudhuri, Grand Rapids, MI, United States
  716. Neepa Majumdar, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
  717. Erica Wald, London, United Kingdom
  718. AInoon Naher, Dhaka, Bangladesh
  719. Deepa Majumdar, Westville, IN, United States
  720. Marie De Santis, Gualala, CA, United States
  721. Aleeze Moss, Philadelphia, PA, United States
  722. Papa Nurun Nahar, Boston, MA, United States
  723. Bernhard Hertlein, Bielefeld, Germany
  724. Krupa Shandilya, Amherst, MA, United States
  725. Amrita Basu, Amherst, MA, United States
  726. Kumar Nishant
  727. Javed Anand
  728. Bimal Borah
  729. Indu Sagar
  730. Akku Chowdhury, Dhaka, Bangladesh
  731. Mahi Mahiuddin Palash, Dhaka, Bangladesh
  732. Tanisha Ameen, Australia
  733. jayadevan pc
  734. Uma Vennam
  735. Kate Swann, bognor regis, United Kingdom
  736. Anatya Vallabh
  737. Veena Nabar
  738. Yogesh Bhasin
  739. Nida Kirmani, Lahore, Pakistan
  740. Namita Bharati
  741. Jayarajan PK
  742. Tom Mundakel, Brooklyn, NY, United States
  743. Satish Shetty, Redmond, WA, United States
  744. rosemary antrobus, london, United Kingdom
  745. TAHERA YASMIN, dhaka, Bangladesh
  746. Ravinder Singh
  747. JAHNAVI BORTHAKUR SAXENA
  748. Mohseneen Mirza
  749. Shaista waseem
  750. Virendra Kumar
  751. Bizeth Banerjee
  752. CHITTARANJAN GUPTA
  753. Pankaj Ganeshgarhia
  754. Kishore Pisapati
  755. Salil Mathur
  756. Kunal Chugh
  757. Garima Puniani
  758. Alisha Kapoor
  759. RUMANA HASHEM, Beckton, United Kingdom
  760. Honey Gupta
  761. Supriya Naik
  762. Alyosha Goldstein, Albuquerque, NM, United States
  763. Apoorva Sinha
  764. Preeti Sheth
  765. Uma Asher
  766. PJ Saju, Ernakulam
  767. caroline RATCHAGANATHAN, France
  768. Poarkodi Natarajan
  769. Jhelum Roy
  770. Seema Sarohe
  771. Chandra sekhar
  772. sarita bakliwal
  773. pamela voekel, athens, GA, United States
  774. ROHITH CHANDRAN
  775. lia latha
  776. Sivagamavallie G
  777. abeedha samy, Singapore
  778. malathi jay
  779. Dhanalakshmi Ramany
  780. ali syed
  781. Banu Subramaniam, Amherst, MA, United States
  782. ARUP BARUA, Dhaka, Bangladesh
  783. Anuraag Verma
  784. Tanya Mehta
  785. AASTHA AHUJA
  786. Aqeel Imam, Rotterdam, Netherlands
  787. Priya Senthil, Chennai
  788. Subhashini Varadarajan
  789. Rajiny Balaji
  790. Satya Prakash Arya
  791. mohana rushyandhan, chennai,
  792. Shubham Gupta
  793. Aishwarya Aish
  794. Nita Gopal
  795. Devi Lakshmikutty, DH, Netherlands
  796. Satish Rathore
  797. Albert Helene
  798. Tushar Anjaria
  799. Dhirendra Panda
  800. Reena Mohan
  801. Kavitha Kuruganti, Bengalaru
  802. Mohan Hirabai Hiralal
  803. Vamshakti, Pratapgarh
  804. Amit R. Baishya ,Assistant Professor ,Ball State University, Indiana
  805. Deepika Tandon, Miranda House
  806. Saswati Ghosh
  807. Amrita Ibrahim, Washington, DC, United States
  808. Devika Chawla, Athens, OH, United States
  809. Neelanjana Mukhia
  810. Khushi Kabir, Nijera Kori, Bangladesh
  811. Akhila Sivadas
  812. Ritu Mahendru
  813. Krishnakant, Gujarat
  814. Dr. Smarajit Jana
  815. Dr. Sushena Reza-Paul
  816. Dr. Sundaraman
  817. Sarojini
  818. Nandita Bhatia
  819. Priya Thangarajah, legal researcher, Colombo
  820. Jan Pehal
  821. ActionAid Bhopal
  822. Soukhya Project, Bengaluru
  823. Vijayalakshmi BV
  824. Usha Shrivastava
  825. Prasanna PR