5 Years After Nirbhaya’s Brutal Gang Rape, Mother Breaks Down Because NOTHING Has Changed

It has been five years since that horrific gang rape happened which shook not only the country but the world to its core. The brutality of the crime that led to losing one of “India’s daughters” struck a chord with everyone and it led to what we thought would be a safer era for Indian women.

However, even five years later the mother of the 23-year-old physiotherapy student believes that not much has changed in India. In an exclusive interview to a Hindustan Times, she said,

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“When I saw the number of people who had stood with us, we thought a lot would change. Maybe now, nothing like this will ever happen again with any other girl… but the way the situation is continuing now, the way young girls are still falling prey to this monstrosity.”

Talking about the state of young girls, women and even kids she said that just a few weeks ago, two children were assaulted. Jyoti’s mother said, “The way such crimes are still happening, I feel like we are still frozen in time five years ago.”

It was December 16, 2012, when the girl who came to be known as Nirbhaya was gang-raped by six men in a moving bus. She was assaulted with an iron rod and her intestines had been pulled out.

The woman who lost her daughter in Singapore on December 29, 2012, after she fought for life for 13 days, said that it is encouraging that more women are coming out to report the crime. However, stigma and victim shaming still prevails. She said,

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“Even today, I meet people and families who have gone through something similar and want the culprits punished. But they don’t want to come forward. They are, worried about what will people think, who will marry her. I say you are worried about things that will happen maybe 10 years in the future but how will the girl survive right now? How will she forget? If there is some justice, then the girl will also get some closure.”

 

After the rape case, rape laws were amended on the suggestions of the Justice Verma Committee. However, the mother insists that the “system” hasn’t changed. Well, five years later the courts are still hearing review petitions on her daughter’s case.

Talking about the government and systems in India the mother of the victim said,

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“Things that need to change haven’t changed. Our governments have not changed. Their thoughts have not changed. The system has not changed. Some police stations and officers haven’t changed their ways.”

She said that if there had been a change in the regime, administration and system, we won’t have been in this condition.

However, she finds hope in the youth who is educated. Talking about her visits to colleges, in and outside Delhi, she said that she feels satisfied that students themselves are organising talks on women safety. She said,

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“Young boys and girls are organising talks and debates on women’s safety. This shows they have started thinking about it. They want to work against it because they feel they need to do something. That they need to change people’s thoughts, attitudes, and perspectives.”

 

On 16 December 2012, the brutal gang-rape of an innocent 23-year-old student returning home with a friend after watching a movie occurred. She was raped multiple times and suffered injuries of the abdomen, intestine, and genitals.

In these five years have we come far? I personally don’t think we’ve come far enough.

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