Suzette Jordan

(this post is work in progress)

Photo from June 2013
Suzette Jordan walked a protest march 
organised by Maitree in Calcutta
Suzette walked reclaiming self pride.
Revealing her identity.
Not my shame. Not my fault.
I Never Ask For It

• September 30th. 2016. The prime accused Khader Khan was arrested in delhi along with his accomplice Ali Khan Source reference • December 12th. 2015. The government has removed the state public prosecutor Sarbani Roy from her job, because she requested and suggested minimum punishment for the three convicted. Law Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said that it was " wrong of Sarbani Roy who was representing the state to seek minimum punishment when they have already been declared guilty by the judge". Source reference • December 11th. 2015. Sumit Bajaj, Nasir Khan, Ruman Khan have been given the minimum sentence of ten years for gang rape by the Kolkata Sessions Court. The state lawyer Sarbani Roy did not request the maximum sentence. She told the judge that they were not the prime accused. • December 10th. 2015. The three who went through trial, Sumit Bajaj, Nasir Khan, Ruman Khan have been convicted. Forty five witnesses were examined through the trial. The sentence will be announced on December 11th, 2015. Five were accused of gang rape. The two who have been missing are Qadir Khan (main accused) and Ali Khan. Nasir and Ruman were charged with gangrape. threatening. beating her up. Sumit Bajaj - was charged for gangrape • Suzette Jordan - Herstory February 5. 2012 Suzette Jordan is gang raped by five men in a car. On the night of February 5, Suzette Jordan was at a pub with her friends at Park Hotel, Park Street, Kolkata. Suzette’s friends left the pub over the course of the evening. Suzette had been waiting for a taxi to get back home. A man, Ruman who had befriended her at the bar, offered to drop Suzette home.  Sumit drove a Honda city. Suzette got in the car.   Sumit Bajaj and Ruman Khan were in the car. Sumit Bajaj auto locked the car. Ali, Qadir and Nasir got in the vehicle. They started to play loud music. Suzette was gang raped at gunpoint. Sumit Bajaj age 21 Ruman Khan age 25 Nasir Khan age   Ali age Qadir Khan age Source reference. 2 • February 9. 2012 Suzette goes to the police station to give an FIR Reporting To Remember . I Never Ask For It. Two Sub Inspectors of the Park Street Police Station Saikat Neogi and Manish Singh, blamed Suzette Jordan at the station. Suzette Jordan was instead offered a beer by the two sub inspectors, followed by the comment "  Just because things didn't go your way, you are accusing people of rape? " Source reference: NDTV • February 14. 2012 Suzette undergoes medical examination Details: Suzette Jordan medical examination reports could not confirm rape, but doctors attributed this to the 9 days delay between her assault and her medical check-up. Source reference • February 16. 2012 Suzette Jordan tracks down the accused using Facebook Source reference • February 18. 2012 Car and CCTV footage among other evidence is examined by Kolkata police The white Honda Civic belonging to Sumit Bajaj, one of the accused, is sent for a forensic test and the CCTV footage of the nightclub was also sent to the cyber lab. Source reference • February 19. 2012 Reporting To Remember.  I Never Ask For It. Mamata Banerjee accuses Suzette of fabricating the story to malign the government. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had claimed that the incident was “cooked up” to “malign the government”. Trinamool Congress leader and Sports Minister Madan Mitra said that he not only did he question the morality of the woman but went on to say that the complaint was fabricated to extort money. He then asked, “She has two children and so far as I know she is separated from her husband. What was she doing at a night club so late in the night?” At the state secretariat, a government spokesman asked whether Suzette Jordan was involved with an escort service and referred to an old case of cheating against her father. Source reference • February 19th, 2012 Sumit Bajaj, Nasir Ali and Ruman Khan, three accused are arrested . Qadir Khan ( the main accused ) and Ali  escape from the state. Sources say they have left the country. The perpetrators had fake identities at Park Hotel's club on February 5 where they had approached Suzettte Jordan. Source reference 1 , 2 • February 21. 2012 Two Sub Inspectors of the Park Street Police Station Saikat Neogi and Manish Singh who had blamed Suzette Jordan when she went to the police station are removed from the post. Suzette Jordan was instead offered a beer by the two sub inspectors, followed by the comment "  Just because things didn't go your way, you are accusing people of rape? " It is reported (2015) that Saikat Neogi and Manish Singh are now back and promoted in Kolkata police station. Source reference • April . 2012 " Something must have occurred" - Damayanti Sen. The Joint Commissioner of Kolkata Police Damayanti Sen confirmed the gang rape of Suzette Jordan.  Damayanti Sen confirmed the rape, in an environment where Mamata Banerjee , Chief Minister, Madan Mitra ( MP Trinamool Congress) , Kakoli Ghosh ( MP Trinamool Congress)  were disbelieving and victim blaming Suzette.   Source Reference 1 , 2 • April 4th. 2012 Two days after confirming the gang rape, Damayanti Sen and Jawed Shamim , Joint Commissioner of Police had to rush to the state secretariat and 'clarify' their stand to Mamata Banerjee Chief Minister. Joint Commissioner of Kolkata Police, Damayanti Sen, leading Suzette Jordan's case  is transferred to Barrackpore . Damayanti Sen is replaced by Joint Commissioner , Pallab Kanti Ghosh. " More than the probe, my personal life has become important for the media, which I feel very disturbed about. I wanted to clarify this. " - Damayanti Sen Source reference 1 • May 11. 2012 The police submit a charge sheet The investigators charge the accused persons Sumit Bajaj, Ruman Khan and Nasir Khan under Section 376 (2) (g) of IPC (committing gang rape),Section 506 (criminal intimidation),Section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and Section 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention). Source Reference 1 • December 28 . 2012 Reporting To Remember. I Never Ask For It. Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, a senior leader of Mamata Banerjee's party, said that the rape, "the incident was a misunderstanding between a woman and her 'client' .” Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, a senior leader of Mamata Banerjee's party, said that the Suzette Jordan case was not of case of sexual assault but a misunderstanding during a deal between a woman and her "client". Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar is a member of parliament from the Trinamool Congress party. Source reference • February 19. 2013 Charges are framed against three accused. Two are missing. The court framed charges of gang rape, criminal conspiracy and criminal intimidation against three of the accused namely Ruman Khan alias Tussie, Nasir Khan and Sumit Bajaj. Source Reference • March 3. 2013 In camera trial of the case starts in Kolkata Sessions court . Madhuchanda Bose, the judge of the fast track court, explained the decision of holding the trial in camera saying the incident was sensitive. The next hearing will take place on March 13-14. Source Reference • 13 and 14 March. 2013 Second trial hearing in sessions court Kolkata. Source reference • May 20th. 2013 Suzette has a job with a counselling centre. After months of being discriminated and further stigmatised , Suzette has a job.  Suzette begins to work with women who have experienced sexual violence and trauma. Suzette initiates a support group. source reference • June 22nd. 2013 Not My Shame. Not My Fault. I Never Ask For It. Suzette Jordan " I am Suzette Jordan, not just ' The Park Street Rape Victim". Not My Shame. Not My Fault. I Never Ask For It. " I am Suzette Jordan, not just ' The Park Street Rape Victim". " Why should I hide my face when it wasn't my fault? " "I am tired of hiding my real identity. I am tired of this society's rules and regulations. I am tired of being made to feel ashamed. I am tired of feeling scared because I have been raped. Enough is enough!", Suzette to BBC "I was made to feel like I was the one responsible for the assault. Because I had come out of the nightclub [with a man], I was made to feel that I invited rape." "But I am trying. I am forcing myself to get over the fear. I can't stop living because I am a rape victim." Don't distort my voice, don't blur my picture," - Suzette Jordan to  journalists. "My name is Suzette and I don't wish to be blurred anymore. I want people to know me for the identity that I am, the identity my parents gave me, for the identity I am so proud of. I am Suzette and I am proud of who I am. " According to India’s National Crime Records Bureau, Suzette Jordan was one of the 68 anonymous women who reported being raped in Calcutta in 2012. Source reference 1  , 2  , 3 • July 26. 2014 Film on the Suzette Jordan case is cleared for screening A film based on the Park Street rape case, blocked by the censor board, has been given the go-ahead by the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, its producer said Friday. The 107-minute Bengali film directed by Partha Mukherjee and produced by Debjani Roy was 'banned' from being screened by the regional office of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) on grounds that Kolkata's Raj-era Park Street was shown in 'poor light' in the context of the rape incident. source reference • September 15 . 2014 Suzette Jordan is referred to as the " Park Street Rape Victim" and refused entry into Ginger, a restaurant in Kolkata. Suzette Jordan and a friend are out . Suzette visits Ginger Restaurant and is denied entry.  The restaurant manager is questioned. He refers to Suzette as to as a "trouble maker" and " attention seeking ". Ginger authorities goes on to say that " she had an outstanding bill",  " was drunk and making a commotion". Source Reference India Times NDTV Storify • Sept 19th.2014 Protest in solidarity with Suzette Jordan Blank Noise initiates a protest action in Kolkata after Suzette is denied entry to Ginger restaurant. Link Blank Noise Action Heroes and Kolkata activists including Ratnaboli Ray, Anuradha Kapoor stand in solidarity with Suzette. ‪#‎StandWithSuzette‬ #INeverAskForIt Source Reference Daily Mail • March 13th. 2015 Suzette Jordan died after contracting Meningitis source bbc , The Hindu Remembering Suzette Jordan / tributes Tribute by Rhea Jordan, Suzette's daughter Case lawyer: Anirvan Guhathakurta Public Prosecutor until December 11th, 2015 : Sarbani Roy Judge : Chiranjib Bhattacharya Additional links. Suzette Jordan wiki Suzette Jordan at Satyamev Jayate News media time line research prepared by Vira Mistry. Inputs and contribution by Nicqui Jordan, Suzette's sister. Edit , form and communication by Jasmeen Patheja

Announcement

Jasmeen Patheja and Karuna Nundy

Dear World,

Today in the best of news : 

Blank Noise is now a formal registered trust. Our trustees are Jasmeen Patheja artist/ founder of Blank Noise 

and Karuna Nundy, advocate, Supreme Court. 

The Blank Noise board will be joined by more trustees shortly and we will update 

this post.

Yours truly.

Blank Noise

Meet To Sleep - Jaipur

Meet To Sleep

Jaipur Action Heroes 
Central Park  *  2- 5 pm

Sukriti Suryavanshi
Aarushi Kilawat
Supriya
Satyashree Sethia
Palak Khandelwal
Parul Khanna
Meenal Jain

Meet To Sleep Pune

Action Heroes 

Ameya Gutta and Sayali Patwardhan 

Meet To Sleep

Lakaki Lake - Model Colony

" I was open and excited about doing meet to sleep. I didn't have any preconceived notions. I only images I had of it were the photos of other action heroes napping in Bangalore parks. I was eager to be able to actually nap. And of course I was eager to meet the other Action Hero, Ameya. I discovered that the park we went to was overall safe and friendly; and after seeing this I began wondering whether we should have gone instead to a lesser friendly, more unsafe park; but then I told myself: hey! this is the first time we are doing this, and there are so many things we learn along the way. So its fine. From this experience, we will know what to do differently next time and how!

Regarding sleeping itself, I had no problems with it at all, except for one technical problem: the place where I was lying down was a bench, and because it was narrow, there wasn't enough space to lay my hands on either side of me; so the sleeping position was not very comfortable. Now that I think back on this, I wonder why I did not change the spot! That is the obvious question that comes to mind! However, at that point in time, I just did not think of this possibility! I decided that I would stay put right there where I was... " - Sayali Patwardhan

"This was my first 'Meet to Sleep' event . We had a fruitful discussion on our relationship with public space and cities . It was a preparatory experience for the next 'Meet to Sleep' event." - Ameya Gutta

photography: Ameya Gutta

I Never Ask For It - Siddharth Narrain

For lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons in India, shame, guilt and self

blame, (and in some cases self–loathing) are often part of the first encounter

with their gender identity and sexual orientation. This personal discomfort and

low self worth is often mirrored and reinforced by family, friends, popular

culture, societal norms, and the law, and exacerbated by the feeling of being

different, out of place, the joker in the pack, and the circus exhibit. For those who

are lucky to have supportive family, liberal peer groups, exposure to support

groups, or LGBT communities, the feeling of guilt is gradually replaced with that

of pride, pride in being different.

Coming to terms with one’s sexuality and the norms and practices of one’s

community is a life long project. Part of this process is to recognize and deal with

the phenomenon of victim-blame. I.e. the impulse to blame oneself, or someone

from one’s own “community” for being at the receiving end, violence or stigma. If

we are not careful, this then becomes an easy narrative, hiding more structural

problems of discrimination.

Recently, I was advising a university student on a violent attack he faced in his

university campus. The student had met an attractive young man on campus, and

they had exchanged numbers. This person had called him late in the night.

Excited by the thought, the student went out to meet him. When he reached the

designated spot he found two men in a car. They asked him to get in. He got in

the car, and they drove around for a while, all the time chatting with him. At

some point they stopped the car, and thrashed him mercilessly, abused him

verbally, and threw him out of the car.

While listening to the student’s narrative, even someone like me, no stranger to

encounters of this kind, was quick to question the students motive in getting into

the car. “Why did he get into the car when there were two people? He should

have realized there was suspicious on the phone itself.” I wondered to myself.  

Even while I was repelled by the act of violence, I struggled with locating blame,

instead trying to figure out what a reasonable person would do in his

circumstances, and apportioning some amount of blame to the person who was

the victim of violence.

Thinking about this later, I was surprised at how easy it was to question the

actions of the victim/survivor of violence. Why was he dressed the way he was?

Why was she out so late at night? Why were they not more careful? Why was he

looking for sex in a public place in the first place? What was she thinking?

Perhaps, this is part of our own conditioning, our human reflex to assign an

incident in a scale of reasonableness. Unfortunately, this reasonableness turns

out to be nothing but a veneer hiding transphobia, prejudice and stereotypes.

The reasonable man forms the standard on which the law operates too. What

would a reasonable man do in this circumstance? How would he act? How does

this specific instance compare to how a reasonable man may behave? What this

does not account for is that people don’t fit the model of the reasonable man.

They come up short, overstretch, extend, reinvent, and remodel themselves in

ways that we cannot match with the archetypal reasonable man. In a spectrum of

LGBTQHI, it is the reasonable man who seems out of place. When placed against

this illusionary standard, most of us would come up short.

It’s no surprise then that the law that criminalized sex between adults of the

same sex in India, section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, does not take into the

element of consent. The moral opprobrium for non- procreative sex that forms

the basis of this law overshadows the possibility of people choosing to have

unconventional sex.  The unconventional slips into easily into being ‘unnatural’,

not sanctioned by biology, tradition or religion. The range of human sexual

experience is boxed into heterosexual peno-vaginal sex, and consensual sexual

sex between adults is framed as a crime against societal norms.

The discrepancy between the law and lived sexual experience is stark given that

popular culture and mainstream media and high art have brought us firmly into

the realm of sexual and gender diverse narratives, characters and visualization.

To begin to take this diversity seriously, the first step is to be able to empathise

with other people’s circumstances and actions, however strange they may seem

to us. People’s sexual habits, acts and identities differ wildly, from the missionary

to experimental, extremely private to public, commercial to philanthropic

(remember the last time you’ve had mercy sex!), unhappily married to happily

couple swinging, vanilla to fifty shades of grey. The trick is to be able to go

beyond what we think is normal, or correct, or reasonable, to recognizing a

violent non-consensual act, and acts of prejudice and hatred. To be able to do

this, the first step is to move beyond victim blame.

Siddharth Narrain is a lawyer and research associate with Sarai-The Center for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), Delhi. He has worked previously with The Alternative Law Forum (ALF), Bangalore, and as a journalist with The Hindu Group of Publications, New Delhi.

Not My Shame. I Never Ask For It in solidarity with Happy To Bleed

#‎HappyToBleed‬ ‪#‎INeverAskForIt‬ Stained School uniform. Nervously rubbed white chalk. 
My body. Not my Shame.http://www.ineveraskforit.org/build-evidence ‪

Meet To Sleep - Bangalore

November 28th, 2015  ( 2 - 5 pm) 

Cubbon Park

Bangalore

Action Heroes include 

Seema Nair, Diya Pinto, Wolfram Thurm, Mahesha Hiremath, Shailaja, Pragati KB,  

Kiri Meili, Anandi Sharan, Silvana Rigobon, Vira Mistry, Tharunya Balan, Sufiya Jay,

 Asfiya Farheen, Yasmeen Taj S, Jasmeen Patheja 

"This was the first time I lay down and slept in a park. I didn’t really have any expectations going into it but the moment put my head on the ground and looked up I was filled with awe at just how amazing the view was. It’s the first time I’ve felt immersed in nature in this city. Having my vision filled by only the green and sky allowed my mind to empty and my body to relax completely. 

Having others lying down and sleeping near by meant I could just be without worrying about my stuff or feeling uncomfortable or exposed. I will definitely be doing this again, with friends and with Blank Noise. Over time I hope to feel comfortable enough to do it alone. Reclaiming our space might not always take a big fight or struggle, small simple acts like these can open us up and open up our world in ways we might never have imagined." - Kiri Meili

"Public spaces are so important to our society - to gather, to meet friends, to picnic with family...and with our expanding cities, where we are literarily building and living on top of each other, a park is a perfect break from all the chaos and noise. As a woman, I want to be there. As a woman I want to feel safe there. It is my right as a citizen of this city. 

Sleeping in the park, facing my fears and dropping my guard for those few hours, was a way of taking that space back from my past bad experiences, and the stories that make me not trust my city and the people who live in it. "-  Diya Pinto

"It was a very powerful experience, for me. I chose a spot under a huge tree, and I could feel the support of its roots below, and of the branches above. It was literally like falling asleep in the arms of Mother Earth..

I hope this initiative that was born in India will spread in other countries. I will invite my friends in other European cities to do the same, next time, so we can connect from many other places, and give our support to this valuable cause.. "- Silvana Rigobon, Movement Medicine teacher  and menstruality educator, Italy

" Every Meet to Sleep I've done has been unique in itself. It has been a process to get comfortable sleeping in a public place. At the first Meet to Sleep I was unable to sleep at all and would open my eyes at every sound i heard, However the third one I was finally able to take a nap. This one was very special for me as two of the park dogs also came and napped on my blanket with me. " - Vira Mistry

" I love sleeping in parks because it is a welcome disruption to the monotonous way in the way I relate to the city. I have usually slept in parks with my husband or my dog enjoying a siesta after a heavy lunch, or reading a book in the warm sunshine. To be around bees, flowers, trees and lie on the grass looking into the sky is such a beautiful experience, despite all the stares and ogling from people around. May be they will get used to the idea of a woman sleeping or enjoying the park, if many more of us came out and claimed the space as their own."  - Seema Nair

"I haven't ever lay down in a park or a public place before this. As I lay down and looked up, the dense foliage and its beautiful pattern against the sky caught my eye. Though I could not fall asleep, it was an experience I'll take back. But beyond this, my apprehensions still stay- I will still think twice before sprawling in a park alone. I could lie down and try to sleep only because this was still a protected environment." - Pragati KB

"The view of the tall tree under which we slept was beautiful. It was a peaceful atmosphere away from home. Despite that I could not sleep though. Got bored towards the end. And hence felt that the duration could have been shorter."  - Shailja GP 

"It is a shame that people can not use public spaces. Thats what they meant for. Public paces that should comfort society instead of scaring it. This has to change. But we can not wait for rules and their enforcement. These spaces are ours and we have to reclaim them. Not through limitations, but through presence of society itself. How beautiful it is, to use the comfort of a nap as a step in that direction..." - Wolfram Thurm

photo: Jasmeen Patheja

Meet To Sleep. November 28

An ActionHero was raped in Bangalore's Cubbon Park this November. 

The home minister responded and hence we Report To Remember " 

" Why should a woman go play tennis at 9 30 pm " ?

•

We will Meet To Sleep for our will to be fearless.

We will Meet To Sleep for our right to be unwarned.

We will Meet To Sleep to build new memory with our very own public parks.

Bring along a mat, a cushion if you like, a blanket , water, snack.

Bring along a potential new Action Hero if you like.

It's on this Saturday, November 28th at 2 pm.

Location will be shared on confirmation only.

Email : blurtblanknoise@gmail.com 

phone: 9886840612 ( 9 30 am - 5 30 pm )

There is no excuse for sexual violence. I Never Ask For It. 

This action will be simultaneously built in Pune, Bombay , Jaipur, Bangalore and in your city/ town/place if you sign up to organise.

Yours truly,

Blank Noise Team