Bhanwari Devi: Justice eluded her, but she stands resolute for others -Sachin Saini

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published Published on Sep 17, 2021   modified Modified on Sep 21, 2021

-Hindustan Times

Bhanwari Devi’s legal battle birthed India’s sexual harassment protection laws for women, and forms the backbone of the Supreme Court’s landmark 1997 Vishakha guidelines for workplaces. Yet, her case has not resulted in convictions

Bhateri, Rajasthan: Thin and frail and in her early sixties, Bhanwari Devi sits, an orange ghunghat covering her head, her forehead furrowed. The last year has not been kind to her. As her hands sprinkle water on a buffalo calf in the courtyard of her home in the village of Bhateri in Rajasthan, she talks of her husband who died last year.

Her body is racked by diabetes, and the loss of her companion has brought the idea of mortality closer. And yet, Devi betrays no weakness, her movements quick and decisive.

For the last three decades, she has fought a case against five local men for rape, assault and harassment. Her legal battle has birthed India’s sexual harassment protection laws for women, and forms the backbone of the landmark Vishakha guidelines for workplaces laid down by the Supreme Court in 1997.

Yet, her case has not resulted in convictions, underlining the problems underprivileged women face in legal battles, deeply entrenched patriarchal attitudes in the countryside, and the dangers faced by female activists in trying to change those mind sets.

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Hindustan Times, 17 September, 2021, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/bhanwari-devi-justice-eluded-her-but-she-stands-resolute-for-others-101631811309362.html


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