Bilkis Dadi

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This article is about an Indian activist from Delhi. For the victim of gang-rape in the Gujarat riots, see 2002 Gujarat riots § Bilkis Bano case.

Bilkis Dadi
Born (1938-01-01) 1 January 1938 (age 86)
Hapur, Uttar Pradesh, British Raj[1]
Other namesThe Dadi of Shaheen Bagh
Known forSitting at Shaheen Bagh protests

Bilkis Dadi (lit. transl. 'Grandmother Bilkis'; born Bilkis Bano)[2] is an Indian activist who was at the forefront of protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) passed by the central Government of India.[3][4] She received national and international coverage during the sit-in protest in Shaheen Bagh in Delhi. For her role in the Shaheen Bagh protest, she came to be known as one of the 'Dadis of Shaheen Bagh' (English: Grandmothers of Shaheen Bagh) and went on to be listed on the Time 100 list and BBC's 100 Women in 2020. She was named "Woman of the Year" in The World's 500 Most Influential Muslims for 2020.

Life[edit]

Bilkis was born on 1 January 1938[5] in a village in Hapur district of Uttar Pradesh, India.[6] She did not receive any formal education and grew up reading the Quran Sharif.[6] Vice summarizes her life— "She spent her life raising her six children, farming and rearing cattle".[7] Her husband died when she was in her early 70s. She lives in Shaheen Bagh, Delhi, with her daughters-in-law and grandchildren.[6]

Activist career[edit]

Bilkis sat with two of her friends, Asma Khatoon (90) and Sarwari (75),[8] and hundreds of muslims under a canopied tent at Shaheen Bagh, blocking a major highway in Delhi, for over three months.[9][10][11] Bilkis and her two friends came to be known as the Dadis of Shaheen Bagh (English: Grandmothers of Shaheen Bagh).[12] The other woman of Bilkis' joint family also took turns to participate in the protest.[8] Bilkis herself did not miss a day of the protest. In Delhi's winter, she sat at the protest site from 8 in the morning every day. She also took part in the open-mics at the protest site.[13] The protest started in response to police violence in Jamia Millia Islamia university located near Shaheen Bagh— "We continued our sit-in even as it rained or mercury dropped or temperature shot up. We had been sitting ever since our kids were thrashed in Jamia. Shots were fired in front of us, yet nothing deterred us".[14]

In an interview published in Livemint, she said that it is the idea of a plural India that she and her late husband grew up with that she is fighting for, "despite all odds ... They passed the Babri Masjid verdict, triple talaq law, demonetization, we didn't say anything, but we will not stand for this division."[15] During the 2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest, Bilkis Bano tried to join the protests but was escorted away by the police.[16] She expressed solidarity with the farmers at an event at Press Club of India.[17] Many news outlets including OpIndia and Zee News have criticized her, calling her a cover for radical and separatist elements and a "sympathiser of anti-India forces".[12]

Recognition[edit]

On 23 September 2020, she was included in Time magazine's Time 100 list of the 100 most influential people in 2020 in the icons category. In her profile, journalist and author Rana Ayyub described her as 'the voice of the marginalised'.[18] In November 2020, BBC listed Bilkis Dadi in the list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world for 2020. BBC quotes her saying "Women should feel empowered to step out of their homes and raise their voice, especially against injustice. If they don't leave their homes, how will they showcase their strength?"[19] Bilkis shared the Quaid Millat Award for Honesty in Politics/Public Life 2020 with Karwan-e-Mohabbat.[20] She was featured in the 2021 edition of The Muslim 500: The World's 500 Most Influential Muslims which named her "Woman of the Year". The page long explanation says— "Starting a simple Gandhian sit-in protest on a road in her locality of Shaheen Bagh in Delhi, she managed to bring the world's attention to the latest signpost in India's slide ... ."[21] Gal Gadot called Bilkis as one of her "personal wonder women" commenting "the 82-year-old activist fighting for women's equality in India showed me it's never too late to fight for what you believe in".[22]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "'PM Modi is my son': says Shaheen Bagh's 'Bilkis Dadi' named in Time's most influential people". Hindustan Times. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Time Magazine names Bilkis, Dadi of Shaheen Bagh, among 100 most influential people - Dadi of Shaheen Bagh". The Economic Times. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  3. ^ "Shaheen Bagh 'dadi' Bilkis named in Time Magazine's list of 100 Most Influential People". India Today. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  4. ^ India's Bilkis Bano: The grandmother who stood up to Modi (Video), Deutsche Welle, 10 December 2020, retrieved 30 March 2021
  5. ^ Tarrant, Tavleen (8 March 2021). "Bilkis Dadi of Shaheen Bagh, a modern-day Jhansi Ki Rani". Al Jazeera.
  6. ^ a b c "PM Modi is like my son, says Bilkis Dadi of Shaheen Bagh". Muslim Mirror. 25 September 2020. Archived from the original on 5 October 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  7. ^ Singh, Himani (3 September 2020). "Shaheen Bagh's Bilkis Bano One of Times's [sic] 100 Most Influential People". Vice. Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Featured on Time's list, Bilkis says would have been happier if demand was met". The Indian Express. PTI. 25 September 2020. Archived from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  9. ^ Ellis-Petersen, Hannah; Rahman, Shaikh Azizur (21 January 2020). "'Modi is afraid': women take lead in India's citizenship protests". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 January 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  10. ^ Masih, Niha (13 January 2020). "India's first-time protesters: Mothers and grandmothers stage weeks-long sit-in against citizenship law". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 18 June 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  11. ^ "A Win for India's Diversity: Shaheen Bagh's Bilkis Dadi is on Time's Most Influential People List". Arré. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  12. ^ a b Singh, Navya (2 December 2020). "Condemned, Vilified: 82-Yr-Old Bilkis Dadi Painted Anti-National For Supporting Farmers". The Logical Indian. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  13. ^ Gayathri, P R (25 November 2020). "Shaheen Bagh Dadi Named BBC's '100 Women of 2020'". Femina. Archived from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  14. ^ Bhasin, Swati, ed. (25 September 2020). ""PM Modi Also My Son": Bilkis, Shaheen Bagh's Dadi Who Made Time 100 List". NDTV. ANI. Archived from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  15. ^ "The old guard: meet the elderly protesters of Zakir Nagar and Shaheen Bagh". livemint.com. Archived from the original on 13 January 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  16. ^ The Wire Staff. "Delhi Police Stop Bilkis Dadi From Protesting With Farmers at Singhu Border". The Wire. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  17. ^ "Felicitation for Shaheen Bagh protester". Telegraph India. 30 September 2020. Archived from the original on 2 October 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  18. ^ Ayyub, Rana. "The 100 Most Influential People of 2020: Bilkis". Time. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  19. ^ "BBC 100 Women 2020: Who is on the list this year?". BBC News. 23 November 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  20. ^ "Bilkis to share Quaid Millat Award". The Hindu. 22 October 2020. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  21. ^ The Muslim 500: The World's 500 Most Influential Muslim 2021 (PDF) (pdf). The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre, Jordan. ISBN 9789957635565. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2021. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  22. ^ "Shaheen Bagh's Bilkis Bano is in Gal Gadot's list of 'Personal Wonder Women'". Hindustan Times. PTI. Posted by Shankhyaneel Sarkar. 31 December 2020. Archived from the original on 31 December 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
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