With the outrage over the horrifying gangrape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua growing louder across the nation, the Bollywood fraternity too could not hold in the rage anymore.
The recent investigation into the January incident has unfolded the gory details of the crime that was allegedly committed inside a temple where the girl was sedated, raped a multiple times, and later murdered and thrown in the woods.
Ashamed and enraged, Bollywood now demands #JusticeForOurChild. Celebrities like Sonam Kapoor, Vishal Dadlani, Kalki Koechlin, Richa Chadha and many others have posted pictures on their social media holding placards with a message demanding justice for the victim. People have followed in their footsteps, which has given way to a new trend that is purely and wholly for a social cause.
The latest to join the list is Kareena Kapoor, who took to Instagram and posted a photo with the placard that read, "I am Hindustan. I am Ashamed. #JusticeForOurChild 8 years old. Gangraped. Murdered in 'Devi'-sthaan temple. #Kathua"
A couple of days ago, Sonam Kapoor posted a similar picture on Twitter, with the same caption.
I am Hindustan. I am Ashamed. #JusticeForOurChild
— Sonam Kapoor (@sonamakapoor) April 13, 2018
8 years old. Gangraped. Murdered.
In ‘Devi’-sthaan temple. #Kathua pic.twitter.com/8SIR9hYswI
Kalki Koechlin also shared a photo
— Kalki केकला (@kalkikanmani) April 13, 2018
Ab bhi jiska khoon na khaula, khoon nahin woh paani hai.
#ArrestTheGuilty
"Don't let this matter be pushed aside by the news-cycle driven media. Raise your voice, put up your own pictures and tag me," tweeted Vishal Dadlani
Ab bhi jiska khoon na khaula, khoon nahin woh paani hai.#JusticeForAsifa #JusticeForUnnao #JusticeForOurChild #WakeUpTheGovernment#ArrestTheGuilty
— VISHAL DADLANI (@VishalDadlani) April 13, 2018
Don't let this matter be pushed aside by the news-cycle driven media. Raise your voice, put up your own pictures and tag me. pic.twitter.com/hf5oj3uyBJ
Manoj Bajpayee too joined the others, and wrote, "#ashamed #angry #JusticeforAsifa," while sharing the photo
#ashamed #angry #JusticeforAsifa pic.twitter.com/UQZm4sRG3Z
— manoj bajpayee (@BajpayeeManoj) April 13, 2018
Richa Chadha went a step further and uploaded a video with the placard-message on Twitter.
#JusticeForOurChild #KathuaCoverUp #Unnao #EndRape #NoMoreRapeyCops #NoMoreRapistsInParliament pic.twitter.com/TkV92rGyGx
— TheRichaChadha (@RichaChadha) April 13, 2018
Others celebrities also spoke up about the gruesome incident
"Imagine what goes through the mind of an 8 yr old as she is drugged, held captive, gang raped over days and then murdered. If you don't feel her terror, you are not human. If you don't demand Asifa get justice, you belong to nothing," Farhan Akhtar wrote on Twitter.
Imagine what goes through the mind of an 8 yr old as she is drugged, held captive, gang raped over days and then murdered.
— Farhan Akhtar (@FarOutAkhtar) April 12, 2018
If you don’t feel her terror, you are not human.
If you don’t demand Asifa get justice, you belong to nothing.
"How many more children like baby Asifa will be sacrificed at the intersect of religion & politics? How many more children will have to suffer unimaginable crimes before we wake up? I'm disgusted. It's time for swift action. We owe it to Asifa and to humanity. #justiceforAsifa," Priyanka Chopra tweeted.'
How many more children like baby Asifa will be sacrificed at the intersect of religion & politics? How many more children will have to suffer unimaginable crimes before we wake up? I’m disgusted. It’s time for swift action. We owe it to Asifa and to humanity. #justiceforAsifa.
— PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) April 12, 2018
Akshay Kumar wrote, "Yet again we've failed as a society. Can't think straight as more chilling details on little Asifa's case emerge...her innocent face refuses to leave me. Justice must be served, hard and fast!"
Yet again we've failed as a society. Can't think straight as more chilling details on little Asifa's case emerge...her innocent face refuses to leave me. Justice must be served, hard and fast! https://t.co/xrW5RVffLe
— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) April 12, 2018
In recent developments on the case, two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, Chandra Prakash Ganga and Lal Singh, resigned following accusations of attending a rally in support of the miscreants responsible for the crime.
There Should Be A National Uprising: Hema Malini On Kathua Rape
veteran actress and politician Hema Malini says there should be a strong support from media and a national uprisibng to bring justice for the 8-year-old girl who was gang-raped and killed in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district.
Hema took to the social media on Saturday to express her concern.
"There should be a national uprising with strong support from the media, against these animals who don't spare even babies and toddlers. I agree with Manekaji (Gandhi) that death penalty should be instantaneous once proven guilty and there should be no bail or pardon, juveniles included, for all rapes," she tweeted.
Maneka, the Women and Child Development (WCD) Minister, said on Friday that the Ministry intend to bring an amendment to the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act to provide for stringent punishment against rape.
The minor girl from the Bakerwal community was kidnapped on January 10; taken to a temple in Rasana village in Kathua.
Her attackers, who included temple official and policemen, drugged and gang raped her over days before finally killing her and dumping her body in nearby forest seven days later.
The girl was attacked to scare away the nomadic Muslim community out of the village.
'Wish Actresses Hold Placard Against Sexual Exploitation In Bollywood'
Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri says it is good that many actresses are sharing photographs of themselves holding placards urging action in the Kathua rape case incident. However, he wishes they also voice their concerns against sexual exploitation in the Hindi film industry.
Several Bollywood actresses like Kareena Kapoor Khan, Swara Bhasker, Sonam Kapoor, Shruti Seth and Mini Mathur have held placards asking for justice for the eight-year-old girl, who was kidnapped, sedated, starved, gangraped and murdered in the Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir.
"It's good to see film heroines holding placards to make a point on Kathua tragedy. I wish they also hold a placard against the sexual exploitation of women in Bollywood. I wish they also refuse to do roles that portray heroines only as sex objects and dumb bimbos. Can they?" Agnihotri tweeted on Sunday.
Sexual abuse has been a topic of much debate in Bollywood and Hollywood in recent times. Prominent names from the entertainment industry have been discussing how men in power take advantage of women in exchange for taking forward their dreams.
However, Bollywood celebrities haven't named and shamed.
