The Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO) condemns the gang-rape and murder of the fifty-year-old woman in Budaun on the night of January 3, 2021. That the incident comes months after the Hathras gang-rape case shows the lack of regard to the safety of women in our society. We express our condemnation of the negligence shown by the local administration in handling the case promptly as requested by the deceased’s family members and demanded by activists.
As activists working for the rights of animals, we regularly deal with systemic forms of oppression. The same system that strips human bodies the right to autonomy operate against nonhuman animals. Female cattle are forcibly impregnated to give birth to calves in order to continue to produce milk. Females in the animal species are reduced to egg-, milk-, and meat-producing entities without any rights over their body, reproductive systems, and lives. They are exploited merely for satisfying human pleasure for meat and dairy products.
When we witness the objectification of women’s bodies and gender-based violence in society, we come to see how the oppression of gendered human and nonhuman bodies is an extension of the same culture of indignity practised by the patriarchal structure.
As a society, we need to take a clear stand. FIAPO stands against the anthropocentric, heteronormative, and patriarchal structures of systemic oppression. We stand against the culture of indignity, exploitation and rape rampant in our society.
