‘Sandeshkhali videos are real…’: Women on the island of West Bengal are silent before the elections and will let the vote speak

The crowded ferry with chattering passengers stops at the island of Sandeshkhali. The silence as we take the toto or rickshaw and travel around the island is telling. These were the complaints and laments that told of the trauma that countless women on this beautiful island faced, breaking years of silence. The once fertile lands and fish farms had hidden the underbelly of corruption and sexual harassment of Sandeshkhali’s women. The silence is now confusing and echoes a fear.

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This comes just days before Basirhat, where Sandeshkhali falls, goes to vote. For the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC), this island is the epicenter of the electoral battle. For the BJP, this is an opportunity to accuse the TMC of protecting corruption and crimes against women. For the TMC, it is a cudgel to accuse the BJP of having double standards when it comes to women’s empowerment and safety.

News18 manages to speak to a few women at the health center, where residents say the facilities are good, but they want bigger hospitals with more amenities. The few private ones are not enough. A woman, who was hesitant to speak, opens up a little after much prompting. “The videos are real… women have been kidnapped. At our next door neighbor’s Bahu was recovered, but we don’t know what happened. I can not say more. Of course I will vote. We want peace.”

A desire to Shanti or peace, which has been rocked since videos of women narrating stories of sexual harassment at the hands of Shahjahan Sheikh and his TMC men surfaced, is the main slogan of the poll.

A woman complained to us: “My husband, who works for the BJP, was arrested by the police. They didn’t tell me why.”

But will that stop him from voting? “No. I will vote. And I only want peace, development and jobs.”

We stop at a small makeshift workshop manufacturing Matured, puffed rice, a popular Bengali snack. Women seem to cringe when we hold up our microphones. They refuse to speak when asked about the videos and the revelations of crimes against women. “We don’t know anything, we’re not from here, we’re just coming to recover Matured“This is a bit difficult to accept, given that this popular snack is easy to find in Bengal.

A little further on, we come across a woman in her sixties, swinging on a makeshift hammock. This is total ignorance on his part. But the men gave up. “The videos are real, but we don’t mean anything. How often should we say the same thing? »

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) office on the Dhamakhali mainland, where ferries take people to Sandeshkhali, has more officers than accused. In fact, a former TMC employee, who had complained of harassment by her party men, was to file a first information report with the CBI. The wait ended in vain as she did not show up. The BJP claims it is because of the fear of TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and her men. Especially since the Bengal CM announced that she would visit the island after the June 4 results. The TMC claims that many cases are now being falsified by the BJP to score points against the TMC.