Even as Ankur Sharma, the advocate representing the accused in the Kathua rape and murder case was busy instigating people to boycott the Muslim tribal and nomadic communities of Jammu, half way across the world in Canada, the story of the little Bakarwal girl was shared before the British Columbia Legislature.
Rachna Singh, a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) who represents the Surrey-Grren Timbers electoral district, spoke about the Kathua case urging her fellow legislators to protect children belonging to vulnerable minorities. “Gender violence is one of the most common forms of human rights violations, often occurring during times of crisis or conflict,” said Singh.
Singh, a mother of a 10 year old daughter herself, said, “As if often the case with gendered violence, the perpetrators used this child’s body as a weapon, with the aim of intimidating her community.” Singh spoke about the efforts of several groups that helped raise awareness about the horrific case. These include Global Girl Power that organised a vigil for the little Kathua girl, the Mamta Foundation an organisation that tries to help abandoned girls in India that held posters of the minor girl at the annual Baisakhi parade and the Al Ameen Foundation that also held an event to create awareness.
Singh minced no words as she describes the plight of indigenous women in Canada, saying, “Canada has a long and violent history of violence and abuse, particularly as it pertains to indigenous women and children.” Singh said that Canadians have a moral responsibility to deter that violence and continue to invest in truth and reconciliation efforts. “This is a challenging conversation that needs to happen to put an end to this injustice,” said Singh. She concluded by exhorting her fellow Canadians to rally together to find justice for the little girl.
The entire video may be viewed here: https://www.facebook.com/RachnaSinghSGT/videos/1860130154285098/