On April 15th 2018, hundreds of people took to Parliament Street to protest and vent out their anger against the Kathua and Unnao rape cases. Poetry, speeches and talks were used to display people’s dissent.

Students, social rights activists, professors, lawyers, poets and even children gathered at Parliament Street in the capital and condemned the barbaric rapes and demanded Yogi Adityanath be sacked.

Earlier in January, an eight-year-old was kidnapped, raped and murdered in Rasana village near Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir. The juvenile belonged to the nomadic Bakarwal community. The incident made national news when charges were filed against eight men in April and their arrest led to protest which was attended by two BJP ministers and Congress party leaders.

In Unnao, another young woman who accused Kuldeep Singh Sengar, Unnao BJP MLA, for raping her, attempted suicide outside the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s office seeking justice. Later, her father was taken into judicial custody after being assaulted by supporters of Sengar. He died a day later after he was rushed to the hospital.

Deepika Singh Rajawat, lawyer for the Kathua rape victim, stressed upon the humiliation faced by the Bakarwal community and promised to fight till the end.