Prominent young Muslim activist, Afreen Fatima, has emerged as an icon of courage and struggle against the Hindutva regime of India’s Narendra Modi as the house of Afreen was bulldozed by authorities in Uttar Pradesh, India.
The 20-year-old termed the move as an “act of vendetta” by the government in response to the protests against BJP officials that she had actively been a part of. Within a few hours, the house was torn down and the belongings of the family, such as furniture and books, were thrown outside.
Reportedly, among those belongings, was a poster that said: “When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.”
The demolition came after riots and protests emerged in India following blasphemous remarks by BJP officials. The protests became global, resulting in nearly 20 nations uniting against India.
Fatima told Al Jazeera that she was not even at home when the house was reduced to rubbles.
The police allege that Fatima’s father, Javed Mohammad — who is a prominent face in the anti-CAA protests — called for protests on Friday, The Wire reported.
The police had raided the house the same day and took with them the 57-year-old without any warrant. Javed is a politician who belongs to a Muslim party and was charged with rioting. He was then labelled the “mastermind” behind the protests.
“My mother and my sister were illegally detained for more than 30 hours,” Fatima told Al Jazeera TV.
The young activist has rejected all the allegations and says that the bulldozing was illegal.
City officials had pasted a notice on their house saying that the two-story building was an “illegal structure that would be demolished on Sunday.”
“The demolition is absolutely illegal because it is not even my father’s property. The house belongs to my mother,” she told Al Jazeera.
Fatima belongs to a student group called the Fraternity Movement and rose to prominence during nationwide protests that happened after a controversial citizenship law passed by the Modi government in 2019.
She was also elected the president of the women’s college students union at Aligarh Muslim University which is India’s largest minority institution based in Uttar Pradesh.
