By Anomitra Paul
The draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 has been amended to broaden the scope of arrests under the designation of ‘terrorist acts’ and has given the government the absolute right to designate a citizen as a terrorist. The Home Minister propagated in Parliament the idea that propaganda and ideas of dissent are at the root of divisive acts towards the nation, which is a statement wholly applicable to the outcomes of the Act which has come under immense criticism for undermining the democratic right to dissent and the constitutional machinery designed to protect it.
Safoora Zargar has most recently been in the headlines for being heckled under the scope of UAPA’s ambiguous powers to imprison individuals or entities that are not blind to the acts of the government. Zargar, a scholar of sociology at the prestigious Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi was a media coordinator at the Jamia Coordination Committee and active in the anti-CAA protests that shook the country before a global pandemic was acknowledged by the government of India.
On April 13, the pregnant Safoora Zargar was sleeping at her home when she was arrested and charged with making inflammatory speeches to an extent that “an entire city is brought to its knees and the entire government machinery is brought to a grinding halt“, an allegation that was dubbed by her lawyers as inaccurate.
Like many other students, there was no intervention on the part of constitutional courts to defend her right to life and liberty under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.
The number of students arrested in connection with a ‘conspiracy’ that led to the riots that engulfed Delhi in the month of February and have been repeatedly touted as a planned pogrom against the Muslim minority in the city is increasing by the day; social and political activists are being imprisoned without due process of law and without evidence to support their involvement.
The Delhi police have said that the arrests were made after garnering of thorough “forensic evidence and analysis“, even though there have been reports by affected Muslim families of being attacked by the state machinery as well as Hindu mobs.
The particular case of Safoora Zargar has received international attention due to the risks associated with her pregnancy. Zargar is lodged in the overcrowded Tihar jail, with high exposure to COVID-19 cases without adequate medical attention, She has also been without the freedom to contact her family when required, as reported by BBC, risking her physical and mental health.
It has also been argued in Delhi’s Patiala Court that Zargar is diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and is suffering from a urinary tract infection. PCOS disease is a hormonal disease that is chronic but common, and leads to complications in childbirth. Patients are required to have a strict and specific diet, mostly avoiding carbohydrates, fats and sugar.
Pregnant women with PCOS are almost inevitably at the risk of delivering prematurely and have a higher risk of miscarriage. A UTI is an infection that usually affects the bladder, urethra or ureter but in more serious cases can affect the kidney, leading to a state of near-hospitalization.
It is said that a bladder infection may cause pelvic pain, increased urge to urinate, pain with urination and blood in the urine. A kidney infection may cause back pain, nausea, vomiting and fever.
It’s important to discuss the details of Safoora Zargar’s pregnancy and her condition because it does set her apart in terms of inhumane treatment of prisoners.
While it is fundamentally wrong to imprison activists and dissenters without furnishing proper evidence that isn’t WhatsApp texts, Zargar represents the lengths this government is willing to go to curb the rights of anyone daring to oppose its decisions.
The farcical protective measures in the constitution fail to serve us in the absence of judicial review in the face of steps taken by the government.
The American Bar Association has also cited the ‘Bangkok Rules’ or the ‘United Nations Rules for Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-Custodial Measures for Women Offenders’ adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2010. It recognises the specific characteristics and needs of women prisoners and recommends alternatives to imprisonment for the well-being of women and children.
Zargar’s arrest represents the lengths this government is willing to go to to curb the rights of anyone daring to oppose its decisions.
Denying bail to Safoora Zargar not only pinpoints our judiciary’s inability to carry out its constitutional duties but also its refusal to empathize with a woman’s rights to reproductive health. The judge who issued Zargar the order denying her bail also failed to explain how she’s likely to be a threat to the public good. Safoora Zargar represents a section of women who are prisoners of war against the repressive state apparatuses, and her pregnancy should well be a rallying point for her release.