The International Initiative for Justice in Gujarat is a response by national and international women's groups to the horrific violence unleashed against the Muslim community of Gujarat since February 27, 2002, in which women were a central target. As part of this initiative, members of women's groups from India accompanied nine women from Sri Lanka, Algeria/France, India, Israel/UK, Germany and the USA who visited areas in and around Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Panchmahals between 14 and 17 December 2002. During these visits, we met with survivors of the violence as well as with members of women's groups, human rights groups, and other citizens' groups from Gujarat.

Many civil society groups and statutory government bodies have already documented the scope and systematic nature of the violence against the Muslim community, and in particular sexual violence against women in Gujarat. In our visit, we have heard many confirmations of the information contained in these reports. We find it regrettable that the Indian government has not paid attention to the facts provided through this process, nor ensured the enforcement and implementation of the recommendations set out in, for example, the report of the National Human Rights Commission. We are also concerned by the fact that in spite of the totally inadequate legal and other responses to the violence in Gujarat, the government has continued to deny permission for international scrutiny of the situation.

The situation that has arisen in the context of the post-election scenario in Gujarat exposes the fallacy of India's claim to be the world's largest democracy and raises a clear question about whether a 'free and fair' election alone is a sufficient indicator to guarantee and assert the existence of democracy in any society. The key principles that underpin the democratic functioning of any system of governance consists of a series of closely balanced inter-linkages of institutions that allow for accountability and transparency. A democratic system must also guarantee respect for human rights and freedoms on the basis of non-discrimination and equality. In a pluralist society such as India, ensuring the equal representation and participation of all communities and guaranteeing the rights of women and of minorities are among the most important tests of a genuine democracy. The propagation of fear and hatred among communities is anathema to these principles and is inconsistent with both national and international law.

We are also concerned about the various complex ways in which the post September 11 political climate and the 'war against terror' is being used to deepen divisions and conflicts in Indian society through the manipulations of prejudices and fears. The consequences of the conflation of the Muslims of Gujarat with the international construction of 'the Muslim' as 'terrorist' and the demonization of the community as a whole can also lead to a potentially explosive situation.
   
We have no doubt that the state has been complicit both in the perpetration of the violence in the state of Gujarat, and in the failure to redress it. Nine months later, we are appalled to discover the continuing levels of violence and the inadequacies of existing mechanisms to deliver justice to the victims and survivors. This violence, which reflects a longer and larger genocidal project, in our view constitutes a crime against humanity and satisfies the legal definition of genocide, both of which are crimes of the most serious dimension under international law. In addition, the results of the recent election in Gujarat give the instigators and perpetrators of violence in that state the power and potential to continue with their campaign of hate and terror against the Muslim community. As we heard so often, 'They will never let us survive'. This constitutes a frightening exacerbation of the genocidal conditions prevailing in Gujarat with the potential of spreading to other parts of India, and calls for an urgent and concerted international and national response.

The use of systematic rape and sexual violence as a strategy for terrorizing and brutalizing women in conflict situations echoes experiences of women in Bangladesh in 1971, and in countries such as Rwanda, Bosnia and Algeria. In Gujarat, as in all these other countries, women have been targeted as members of the 'other' community, as symbols of the community's honour and as the ones who sustain the community and reproduce the next generation. This has become an all too common aspect of larger political projects of genocide, crimes against humanity and subjugation. In Gujarat, sexual violence against Muslim women as well as against women in inter-religious marriages is central to the organized political project of Hindutva. During our visit, we have been struck by the explicit use of male sexuality as the mechanism and mobilising tool for recruiting members for the 'cause' and as a means of imposing 'Hindu' dominance upon the Muslim community. We find chillingly unique the incitement to sexual violence as a means of proving the masculinity of the 'Hindu' man, as reflected in the political propaganda of the forces of Hindutva prior to, during and after the violence in February/March 2002 and as carried out through patterns of men stripping and exposing themselves to women in an aggressive and threatening manner, and committing acts of mass rape and burning of victims.

The impact of sexual violence experienced by Muslim women of Gujarat continues. The medical system has proved to be unresponsive to the needs of women who have been victims of violence including sexual violence. Survivors of sexual violence have little access to counseling, and issues relating to their sexual and reproductive health and rights are neglected. We found very little attention paid to issues relating to pregnancy, abortions and sexually transmitted infections as a consequence of sexual violence, and were appalled at the lack of safe spaces for women to recover and defend themselves. The medical system has also proved to be unresponsive to the needs of women who have been victims of violence including sexual violence. Survivors of sexual violence have little access to counseling, and issues relating to their sexual and reproductive health and rights are neglected. We found very little attention paid to issues relating to pregnancy, abortions and sexually transmitted infections as a consequence of sexual violence, and were appalled at the lack of safe spaces for women to recover and defend themselves.

The few women who tried to bring charges of sexual violence have found the legal and investigative systems totally unresponsive to their needs. In many cases, it is the police who were the instigators and perpetrators of sexual violence against Muslim women. The entire system conspires to detract from the gravity of sexual violence as a crime including as a crime against humanity. In addition, patriarchal attitudes that prevail throughout the system preclude an unbiased approach on the part of the police and lawyers. The known connections of officials within the legal system including many members of the police, Public Prosecutors and the judiciary, with organizations of the Sangh Parivar clearly impairs the course of justice. In cases of sexual violence combined with murder, there is a tragic tendency to prioritise murder over rape. This situation has made it clear that the criminal justice system as it exists in India at present is not capable of dealing with incidents of sexual and other violence, particularly of a communal nature. What the experiences of Gujarat show more clearly than ever is the need to eliminate unjust evidentiary requirements that prevent prosecution without medical reports and other corroborating evidence.
 
Many women victims of sexual violence have been silenced, not only by the blatant biases against them at the level of the police, the medical and legal systems but also by their families and communities who seek to hide their 'shame'. The forced marriage of young girls in an attempt to hide the fact that they had been raped, or as a preventative measure is but one terrible consequence of this situation. We met many mothers who admitted to us that they had been compelled to send their daughters 'away' or marry them off to men who they knew to be unsuitable. The failure of state agencies to prosecute perpetrators of violence means that rapists are free to continue to threaten and taunt women on a daily basis.

This situation is all the more unacceptable in the face of progress that has been made internationally in terms of prosecuting rape and sexual violence as torture, as a war crime and as a crime against humanity and genocide at the ad hoc Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. These advances have now been expanded and codified in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

In addition, many testimonies point to the direct involvement of BJP, VHP and Bajrang Dal leaders as instigators and perpetrators of the violence in Gujarat. In a search for justice, holding public figures who bear a specific responsibility to safeguard democratic norms and human rights accountable is an essential step. This accountability has been demonstrated in the Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, where public officials and public figures have been tried and convicted for the instigation and encouragement of crimes against humanity and genocide including sexual violence.
 
Despite the Indian government's claims that normalcy has been restored, during our visits we have seen patterns of continuing violence that totally marginalize the Muslim community and convey to them that they do not have any place within the Indian nation today.