JUSTICE FOR JISHA CAMPAIGN

One more girl has become the victim of brahminical patriarchy. This time, her
name is Jisha. She was brutally raped and murdered in Perumbavoor, about 40km
from the metro city of Kochi, Kerala. Though living in proximity to the metro, Jisha
had only 2 cents of land and lived with her mother and elder sister in a one –room
shanty. One of her extinguished dreams was to get 5 cents of land and a house
with strong doors and secure walls. Jisha’s mother Rajeswari who was abandoned
by husband had struggled assiduously to nurture her daughters. She is a daily
wager. Even in these pathetic circumstances, Jisha had studied up to L.L.B. But the
establishment did not allow her to go forward. Jisha was forced to drop the
course owing to financial problems. The relationship with their neighbors was not
amicable. There were constant threats and blackmails against them even before
the tragic incident. But the complaints lodged against the offenders fell on deaf
ears. Justice was denied to Jisha in her death too. The dubious impassivity of the
government machinery is evident in the improper handling of the basic
procedures of inquest. The mainstream media was in a baffling silence. It was the
fifth estate-the social media- that took up the issue and made it into a mass
campaign.

The Kerala society now is on warfront to ensure justice for Jisha. SCM Kerala
region is rallying along with the cause. We express our solidarity to the Justice for
Jisha Campiagn. We take part in demonstrations, public meetings and other forms
of agitations.The culprits must be brought to book and maximum punishment
ensured. Jisha's family must be rehabilitated. There must be a transformation of
social system which guarantees justice to the dalits only after their death. The
society has a responsibility to make sure that the least powerful sections enjoy
equal opportunities and justice while they are alive and not as mere
compensation after they are gone.

Sadly, for people like Jisha and her family who belong to the most oppressed
section of our society, justice is often an unattainable luxury. Dalit women face
exploitation in multifaceted terrains. The dominant structures of patriarchy, caste
system and economic capitalism work together in the lives of these women as the
sources of dehumanization. Hence, natural justice from the establishment is a
mirage. Only an awakened civil society can combat this structural violence. Jisha
would not be an isolated incident in a society that defines the dalits and women
in manusmrithi’s rationality. It can be repeated anywhere, with a different name.
Hence, the struggle we are engaged in should also deconstruct the logic of
brahminical patriarchy. We are aware that it can be achieved only through a long
term strategy and plan of action .The theoretical debates must be converted into
concrete praxis. The message of gender justice should reach the masses. A
dynamic medium has to be employed to attain the same. From this issue based
agitation, SCMI Kerala region is planning to build up a long term people centered
action plan for gender justices. Justice for Jisha is conterminous with ensuring
that similar incidents do not occur in future.