{"id":6583,"date":"2025-12-20T00:34:54","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T19:04:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/?p=6583"},"modified":"2025-12-20T01:01:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T19:31:09","slug":"silent-march-unanswered-questions-karnataka-women-demand-justice-for-dharmasthalas-lost-daughters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/?p=6583","title":{"rendered":"Silent March, Unanswered Questions: Karnataka Women Demand Justice for Dharmasthala’s Lost Daughters"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Silent March, Loud Demand: Thousands Seek Answers for Dharmasthala\u2019s Lost Women<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Belthangady, Dakshina Kannada<\/strong>\u2014In a powerful display of collective grief and resolve, thousands of women converged on the streets of Belthangady on Monday, their silent march and black masks marking a stark contrast to the decades of unanswered questions surrounding the repeated rape, disappearance, and unnatural deaths of women in the revered pilgrimage town of Dharmasthala.<\/p>\n

Held on Nirbhaya Day, the anniversary of the 2012 Delhi gang rape that galvanised a nation, the rally and subsequent Women\u2019s Justice Convention aimed to shatter a long-standing culture of silence. Organised by the statewide movement \u2018Kondavaru Yaaru\u2019 (Who Killed the Women?), the mobilisation brought together victims\u2019 families, activists, and citizens from across Karnataka demanding truth, justice, and systemic accountability.<\/p>\n

\u0cae\u0ccc\u0ca8 \u0cae\u0cc6\u0cb0\u0cb5\u0ca3\u0cbf\u0c97\u0cc6, \u0c89\u0ca4\u0ccd\u0ca4\u0cb0\u0cb5\u0cbf\u0cb2\u0ccd\u0cb2\u0ca6 \u0caa\u0ccd\u0cb0\u0cb6\u0ccd\u0ca8\u0cc6\u0c97\u0cb3\u0cc1: \u0ca7\u0cb0\u0ccd\u0cae\u0cb8\u0ccd\u0ca5\u0cb3\u0ca6 \u0c95\u0cc1\u0ca1\u0cbf \u0c95\u0ca8\u0ccd\u0caf\u0cc6\u0caf\u0cb0\u0cbf\u0c97\u0cc6 \u0ca8\u0ccd\u0caf\u0cbe\u0caf \u0c95\u0ccb\u0cb0\u0cbf\u0ca6 \u0c95\u0cb0\u0ccd\u0ca8\u0cbe\u0c9f\u0c95 \u0cae\u0cb9\u0cbf\u0cb3\u0cc6\u0caf\u0cb0\u0cc1<\/span><\/h3>\n

A Pattern of Unnatural Deaths<\/strong><\/p>\n

The movement, born in August alongside the establishment of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe these crimes, challenges what it calls an entrenched system of \u201csilence, fear, complicity, and impunity.\u201d Citing grim statistics, speaker Mallige Sirimane highlighted that RTI data reveals the region\u2019s rate of so-called \u201cunnatural deaths\u201d\u2014often classified as suicides, accidental drownings, or drug-related\u2014is two to three times the national average.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur struggle here is part of a continuum, from Hathras to Hassan and Bijapur to Belthangady,\u201d Sirimane stated, linking the local fight to a national crisis of gender violence. She emphasised that justice must extend beyond known victims like Vedavalli, Padmalatha, and Soujanya to countless unnamed women whose deaths never entered public discourse.<\/p>\n

\"\"
On Nirbhaya Day, a Sea of Black Masks Confronts Dharmasthala’s Decades of Unsolved Deaths<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Families Define Justice, System Faces Scrutiny<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the bereaved families, justice is both personal and profoundly societal. Soundarya, sister of Soujanya who was raped and murdered in 2012, offered a simple yet profound measure: \u201cJustice is that after my sister\u2019s murder, the deaths of women have reduced and more girls are able to walk these streets without fear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other speakers questioned the glaring disparity in institutional response. Jyothi A, a member of the movement, contrasted the swift action and legal reforms following the Nirbhaya case with the inertia in Dharmasthala. Drawing from her experience on the 2016 Ugrappa Committee, she noted that while senior police acknowledged over 100 unnatural deaths annually in the region, they failed to explain why. \u201cIs impunity persisting because perpetrators here are protected by power and influence?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

Sashikala Shetty of the Justice for Soujanya movement saw hope in the massive gathering itself: \u201cJustice is that today thousands of people have come together to ask who has killed these women and why justice has been delayed for so long.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
“Who Killed the Women?” A Statewide Movement Challenges Culture of Impunity in Dharmasthala<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Call for Truth and Transformation<\/strong><\/p>\n

The convention transcended calls for mere punitive action, framing justice as a catalyst for deep social change. Dalit poet and activist Du Saraswathi delivered a stirring performance, declaring, \u201cWe are asking not only for the buried bodies to be recovered, but also for the truth buried with them. We will keep asking because we are alive, and the breath of those who died lives within us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The movement\u2019s concept of justice, as outlined by Sirimane, includes \u201ca deep social transformation rooted in dignity, equality, and coexistence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
\u0cae\u0ccc\u0ca8 \u0cae\u0cc6\u0cb0\u0cb5\u0ca3\u0cbf\u0c97\u0cc6, \u0c89\u0ca4\u0ccd\u0ca4\u0cb0\u0cb5\u0cbf\u0cb2\u0ccd\u0cb2\u0ca6 \u0caa\u0ccd\u0cb0\u0cb6\u0ccd\u0ca8\u0cc6\u0c97\u0cb3\u0cc1: \u0ca7\u0cb0\u0ccd\u0cae\u0cb8\u0ccd\u0ca5\u0cb3\u0ca6 \u0c95\u0cc1\u0ca1\u0cbf \u0c95\u0ca8\u0ccd\u0caf\u0cc6\u0caf\u0cb0\u0cbf\u0c97\u0cc6 \u0ca8\u0ccd\u0caf\u0cbe\u0caf \u0c95\u0ccb\u0cb0\u0cbf\u0ca6 \u0c95\u0cb0\u0ccd\u0ca8\u0cbe\u0c9f\u0c95 \u0cae\u0cb9\u0cbf\u0cb3\u0cc6\u0caf\u0cb0\u0cc1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Charter of Demands<\/strong><\/p>\n

The day culminated with the submission of memorandums to the Tahsildar and the SIT, listing urgent demands. These include ensuring the SIT\u2019s independence and transparency, a comprehensive re-investigation of all past unresolved cases, and robust witness protection for complainants.<\/p>\n

The memorandums also called for action against officials guilty of negligence, enhanced safety measures for women in public and religious spaces, mandatory Internal Complaints Committees in all religious institutions, and crackdowns on the online harassment of women seeking justice.<\/p>\n

By framing its struggle within the broader Indian women\u2019s movement and backing emotional testimony with hard data, \u2018Kondavaru Yaaru\u2019 has elevated a long-ignored local tragedy into a pressing test of the state\u2019s commitment to the rule of law and gender justice. The silent masks in Belthangady spoke a universal question: How many more women must be lost before the system listens?<\/p>\n

\"\"
\u0ca8\u0cbf\u0cb0\u0ccd\u0cad\u0caf \u0ca6\u0cbf\u0ca8\u0ca6\u0c82\u0ca6\u0cc1, \u0c95\u0caa\u0ccd\u0caa\u0cc1 \u0cae\u0cc1\u0c96\u0cb5\u0cbe\u0ca1\u0c97\u0cb3 \u0cb8\u0cbe\u0c97\u0cb0 \u0ca7\u0cb0\u0ccd\u0cae\u0cb8\u0ccd\u0ca5\u0cb3\u0ca6 \u0ca6\u0cb6\u0c95\u0c97\u0cb3 \u0c85\u0cb8\u0ccd\u0caa\u0cb7\u0ccd\u0c9f \u0cb8\u0cbe\u0cb5\u0cc1\u0c97\u0cb3\u0ca8\u0ccd\u0ca8\u0cc1 \u0c8e\u0ca6\u0cc1\u0cb0\u0cbf\u0cb8\u0cbf\u0ca6\u0cc6<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

Key Quotes<\/strong>:<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. \n

    Mallige Sirimane (Kondavaru Yaaru):<\/strong>\u00a0“Our struggle here is part of a continuum, from Hathras to Hassan… Justice must include a deep social transformation rooted in dignity, equality, and coexistence.”<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  2. \n

    Soundarya (Soujanya’s sister):<\/strong>\u00a0“Justice is that after my sister\u2019s murder, the deaths of women have reduced and more girls are able to walk these streets without fear.”<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  3. \n

    Du Saraswathi (Activist & Poet):<\/strong>\u00a0“We are asking not only for the buried bodies to be recovered, but also for the truth buried with them. We will keep asking and asking till we get answers.”<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  4. \n

    \u0cae\u0cb2\u0ccd\u0cb2\u0cbf\u0c97\u0cc6 \u0cb6\u0cbf\u0cb0\u0cbf\u0cae\u0ca8\u0cc6 (\u0c95\u0cca\u0c82\u0ca1\u0cb5\u0cb0\u0cc1 \u0caf\u0cbe\u0cb0\u0cc1):<\/strong>\u00a0“\u0ca8\u0cae\u0ccd\u0cae \u0cb9\u0ccb\u0cb0\u0cbe\u0c9f\u0cb5\u0cc1 \u0cb9\u0ca0\u0ccd\u0cb0\u0cb8\u0ccd\u0c97\u0cbf\u0c82\u0ca4 \u0cb9\u0cbe\u0cb8\u0ca8\u0c95\u0ccd\u0c95\u0cc6… \u0ca8\u0ccd\u0caf\u0cbe\u0caf\u0cb5\u0cc1 \u0c97\u0ccc\u0cb0\u0cb5, \u0cb8\u0cae\u0cbe\u0ca8\u0ca4\u0cc6 \u0cae\u0ca4\u0ccd\u0ca4\u0cc1 \u0cb8\u0cb9\u0c9c\u0cc0\u0cb5\u0ca8\u0ca6 \u0c86\u0cb3\u0cb5\u0cbe\u0ca6 \u0cb8\u0cbe\u0cae\u0cbe\u0c9c\u0cbf\u0c95 \u0cac\u0ca6\u0cb2\u0cbe\u0cb5\u0ca3\u0cc6\u0caf\u0ca8\u0ccd\u0ca8\u0cc1 \u0c92\u0cb3\u0c97\u0cca\u0cb3\u0ccd\u0cb3\u0cac\u0cc7\u0c95\u0cc1.”<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  5. \n

    \u0cb8\u0ccc\u0c82\u0ca6\u0cb0\u0ccd\u0caf (\u0cb8\u0ccc\u0c9c\u0ca8\u0ccd\u0caf\u0cb3 \u0cb8\u0cb9\u0ccb\u0ca6\u0cb0\u0cbf):<\/strong>\u00a0“\u0ca8\u0ccd\u0caf\u0cbe\u0caf \u0c8e\u0c82\u0ca6\u0cb0\u0cc6 \u0ca8\u0ca8\u0ccd\u0ca8 \u0cb8\u0cb9\u0ccb\u0ca6\u0cb0\u0cbf\u0caf \u0c95\u0cca\u0cb2\u0cc6\u0caf \u0ca8\u0c82\u0ca4\u0cb0, \u0cae\u0cb9\u0cbf\u0cb3\u0cc6\u0caf\u0cb0 \u0cb8\u0cbe\u0cb5\u0cc1 \u0c95\u0ca1\u0cbf\u0cae\u0cc6\u0caf\u0cbe\u0c97\u0cbf\u0ca6\u0cc6 \u0cae\u0ca4\u0ccd\u0ca4\u0cc1 \u0cb9\u0cc6\u0c9a\u0ccd\u0c9a\u0cbf\u0ca8 \u0cb9\u0cc1\u0ca1\u0cc1\u0c97\u0cbf\u0caf\u0cb0\u0cc1 \u0cad\u0caf\u0cb5\u0cbf\u0cb2\u0ccd\u0cb2\u0ca6\u0cc6 \u0c88 \u0cac\u0cc0\u0ca6\u0cbf\u0c97\u0cb3\u0cb2\u0ccd\u0cb2\u0cbf \u0ca8\u0ca1\u0cc6\u0caf\u0cac\u0cb9\u0cc1\u0ca6\u0cc1.”<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  6. \n

    \u0ca6\u0cc1. \u0cb8\u0cb0\u0cb8\u0ccd\u0cb5\u0ca4\u0cbf (\u0cb8\u0cbe\u0cae\u0cbe\u0c9c\u0cbf\u0c95 \u0c95\u0cbe\u0cb0\u0ccd\u0caf\u0c95\u0cb0\u0ccd\u0ca4\u0cc6 \u0cae\u0ca4\u0ccd\u0ca4\u0cc1 \u0c95\u0cb5\u0caf\u0cbf\u0ca4\u0ccd\u0cb0\u0cbf):<\/strong> “\u0ca8\u0cbe\u0cb5\u0cc1 \u0cae\u0ca3\u0ccd\u0ca3\u0cc1 \u0cae\u0cbe\u0ca1\u0cbf\u0ca6 \u0ca6\u0cc7\u0cb9\u0c97\u0cb3\u0ca8\u0ccd\u0ca8\u0cc1 \u0cae\u0cbe\u0ca4\u0ccd\u0cb0 \u0caa\u0cc1\u0ca8\u0c83 \u0caa\u0ca1\u0cc6\u0caf\u0cb2\u0cc1 \u0c95\u0cc7\u0cb3\u0cc1\u0ca4\u0ccd\u0ca4\u0cbf\u0cb2\u0ccd\u0cb2, \u0c85\u0cb5\u0cb0\u0cca\u0c82\u0ca6\u0cbf\u0c97\u0cc6 \u0cb9\u0cc2\u0ca4\u0cc1\u0cb9\u0cbe\u0c95\u0cb2\u0cbe\u0ca6 \u0cb8\u0ca4\u0ccd\u0caf\u0c95\u0ccd\u0c95\u0cbe\u0c97\u0cbf\u0caf\u0cc2 \u0c95\u0cc7\u0cb3\u0cc1\u0ca4\u0ccd\u0ca4\u0cbf\u0ca6\u0ccd\u0ca6\u0cc7\u0cb5\u0cc6. \u0ca8\u0cae\u0c97\u0cc6 \u0c89\u0ca4\u0ccd\u0ca4\u0cb0\u0c97\u0cb3\u0cc1 \u0cb8\u0cbf\u0c97\u0cc1\u0cb5\u0cb5\u0cb0\u0cc6\u0c97\u0cc6 \u0ca8\u0cbe\u0cb5\u0cc1 \u0c95\u0cc7\u0cb3\u0cc1\u0ca4\u0ccd\u0ca4\u0cb2\u0cc7 \u0c87\u0cb0\u0cc1\u0ca4\u0ccd\u0ca4\u0cc7\u0cb5\u0cc6.”<\/p>\n

    \"\"
    “\u0caf\u0cbe\u0cb0\u0cc1 \u0c95\u0cca\u0c82\u0ca6\u0cb0\u0cc1 \u0c86 \u0cae\u0cb9\u0cbf\u0cb3\u0cc6\u0caf\u0cb0\u0ca8\u0ccd\u0ca8\u0cc1?” \u0ca7\u0cb0\u0ccd\u0cae\u0cb8\u0ccd\u0ca5\u0cb3\u0ca6 \u0ca6\u0ccb\u0cb7\u0cae\u0cc1\u0c95\u0ccd\u0ca4\u0cbf \u0cb8\u0c82\u0cb8\u0ccd\u0c95\u0cc3\u0ca4\u0cbf\u0c97\u0cc6 \u0cb0\u0cbe\u0c9c\u0ccd\u0caf\u0cb5\u0ccd\u0caf\u0cbe\u0caa\u0cbf \u0c9a\u0cb3\u0cc1\u0cb5\u0cb3\u0cbf \u0cb8\u0cb5\u0cbe\u0cb2\u0cc1<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n
    <\/div>\n

    <\/g><\/svg><\/i> \"Loading\"<\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Silent March, Loud Demand: Thousands Seek Answers for Dharmasthala\u2019s Lost Women Belthangady, Dakshina Kannada\u2014In a powerful display of collective grief and resolve, thousands of women converged on the streets of Belthangady on Monday, their silent march and black masks marking a stark contrast to the decades of unanswered questions surrounding the repeated rape, disappearance, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6589,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-karnataka"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6583"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6583\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6590,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6583\/revisions\/6590"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}