By Anjali Monteiro

Mumbai, March 10, 2022: The #WithTheNuns campaign emerged after the Kottayam sessions court judgement on the Bishop Mulakkal case on January 14, 2022. The judgement, acquitting the accused of various offences, including the charge of rape, was critiqued by many legal luminaries because it unwarrantedly discredited the testimony of the survivor and other prosecution witnesses and cast aspersions on her character and motives.

The outrage against the judgement galvanized support for the survivor and the small group of nuns supporting her. Hundreds sent hand-written letters of support to the survivor, also shared on social media. This was widely reported and brought together a group of feminists, human rights defenders, concerned Christians and other citizens.

As Chayanika Shah of the Forum Against Oppression of Women says, “Whether the perpetrators of the violence are from within the community or outside, we have seen that only when the survivor gets support from within her own community and also from those outside that she is able to sustain her struggle (…) This is a tough fight with a very skewed power relationship between the nun and the perpetrator of the violence. Also the case is being fought in the secular courts of this country in a very Hinduized and Hindutva-supporting state machinery. It is this complex mix of factors that makes us join the campaign led by the survivor, her supporters within her religious community and the others who are believers of the same faith. We stand here for her right to justice and to make sure that the state upholds its constitutional promise to ALL its citizens through its various institutions like the judiciary and the police.”

The most recent initiative of the campaign is a letter, signed by around 400 citizens, to the organizers of a training camp for priests/seminarians held on February 24, 2022 at the Christeen Retreat Centre, Kottayam. It protests against the the choice of Bishop Mulakkal as Chief Guest and resource person for this event. Copies of this letter were sent to the Apostolic Nunciature, India and to senior office bearers of the CBCI, KCBC, National CRI and Missionaries of Jesus. It makes a powerful case for not inviting the Bishop to any future event:

(…) we are reluctant to believe that you have chosen Bishop Franco Mulakkal as a teacher for young clergy and seminarians because you want to convey a message to anyone, much less to women religious and other women of Kerala, of India, and the world. We also presume that under no circumstances are you condoning the exploitation of women religious or gender violence against young women and old, whether they are in convents, working in institutions, or women laity who come to the parish for worship or reflection. In this context, the Pope’s monthly prayer intention for February 2022 explicitly mentions “Religious Sisters and Consecrated Women”, thanking them for their mission and their courage; and praying that they continue to find new responses to the challenges of our times. Your choice of resource person went counter to the Papal intention. It also cruelly sent a wrong signal that contravenes all that the Church stands for, in terms of social justice and upholding the dignity of women.

Henri Tiphagne, senior advocate from Madurai points out, “I have associated myself with the campaign since I strongly wish to stand for gender justice within the Church inasmuch as I do so in and with civil society. I personally believe that Bishop Franco cannot be permitted to make any public appearances until all avenues of justice for the survivor have been fully utilized. Anything to the contrary will only create and help strengthen the already patriarchal Church hierarchy.”

Saumya Uma, a feminist academic, endorsed the letter because the choice of the bishop as resource person “completely ignores and brushes under the carpet the serious allegations made by the aggrieved nun against him – as if the bodily integrity and safety of women who engage with the religious sphere really doesn’t matter!” She feels that participation in this campaign is important because “if I were to stay silent and ‘neutral’, I would be siding with the oppressor who continues to enjoy social and political clout within the community and acts with brazenness and impunity. Because I know justice for the nun is achievable and till then, this ought not to be her lonely journey.”

For the survivor and her supporters, it is heartening to have this continuing solidarity from within and outside the Catholic fold, as the case goes in for appeal in the High Court. As Abha Bhaiya, of the “One Billion Rising” campaign points out, “#WithTheNuns is our undaunted feminist solidarity. We will continue our struggle till we get justice for all irrespective of our multiple identities that we hold in dignity.”

(Anjali Monteiro is a filmmaker and academic. She is also a part of the #WithTheNuns campaign.)