Fatima was targeted by Hindu nationalists due to her dissent against the Citizenship Amendment Act in 2019 and 2020. At the time the law was passed, India saw mass protests against the CAA bill.
Activist Gulfisha Fatima has now spent five years lodged in Delhi's Tihar Jail. Fatima, who was arrested on April 9, 2020, due to her alleged involvement in the Anti-CAA protests and 2020 Delhi Riots, continues to spend her life behind bars with her bail plea unheard for three years.
Fatima was targeted by Hindu nationalists due to her dissent against the Citizenship Amendment Act in 2019 and 2020. At the time the law was passed, India saw mass protests against the CAA bill.
As reported by Article 14, Fatima has been accused of instructing people protesting against CAA to "collect red chilli powder, glass bottles, acid bottles, sticks and stones and prepare to obstruct the roads." Evidence regarding the same is yet to be presented.
However, in 2020, violence broke out in northeast Delhi over the controversial law, resulting in the death of over 50 people, the majority of which were Muslims.
Hundreds of houses were set on fire, and violent mobs took to the streets (triggered by BJP leader Kapil Mishra's statements), causing the riots to stretch for four days.
Fatima and many others, such as Umar Khalid, were accused of inciting the violence in northeast Delhi, and since then have been wrongfully jailed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Fatima was 26 at the time she was arrested. Fresh out of her MBA and goals to pursue a PhD, she is now 31 as she awaits for her bail plea to be heard.
In November 2024, the Supreme Court refused to entertain Fatima's bail plea and directed the Delhi High Court to hear her case.
Fast forward to March 2025, Fatima's bail plea remains pending before the High Court. The matter has been heard by the bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur since December 2024. The next hearing is set for April 16.