Daughters still not safe in the country, says Nirbhaya’s mother

New Delhi: Twelve years after the horrific Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder that shook the nation's collective core, the victim's mother on Monday said the daughters are still not safe in the country.

On the night of December 16, 2012, a 23-year-old physiotherapy trainee (name changed to Nirbhaya) was raped and mutilated by six men inside a moving bus in South Delhi and thrown outside.

She died on December 29 at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore.

Four men -- Mukesh Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31) -- convicted of gang-raping and murdering Nirbhaya were hanged in the pre-dawn darkness at Delhi's Tihar Jail on March 20.

Their execution closed the brutal chapter and led to tougher anti-rape laws.

On Monday, twelve years after the incident, Nirbhaya’s mother Asha Devi made an emotional speech at the first ‘National Convention on Prevention of Violence Against Women and Children’.

"It is with great pain that I want to say that even after 12 years the circumstances have not changed…The daughters of the country are not safe…When I was struggling to get justice for my daughter, I knew that she was no more and that she would never return but I remembered her words that the perpetrators should get such punishment that such an incident is not repeated," she said in a choked voice.

Asha Devi recalled that she participated in several events to ensure that the system protected the nation's daughters. But everything had come to nought and despite the new laws and scores of discussions, the circumstances did not change, she said.

"I am unable to understand some incidents where parents have lost their daughter but the case does not reach the court. It takes anything from six months to one year to identify the culprit. How can we then expect that our daughters will be safe and the parents who have lost their daughters will get justice?" she asked.

Referring to the RG Kar incident in Kolkata, Asha Devi said that no one still knows what actually happened.

"Chaliye humein to insaaf mil gaya, ek tassali hui, lekin us tassali ka kya jahan kisi ki jaan chali gayi aur aaj bhi humara system usi halat mein hai (I got justice and this is my solace but what good is such solace when a life has been lost and the system continues to remain the same)," she said.

Nirbhaya’s mother appealed to the Centre and state governments to spare a moment and think why despite the elaborate ‘system’ of police, laws and more, things had not changed.

"I am not blaming anyone, but I am pained that our daughters are not safe, be it in school, office, anywhere. Usually for small daughters, things are even worse and when such a situation exists in towns and cities, what can one say about villages, where most incidents go unnoticed," she said.

"Jo bhi humara kanoon hai uspe sahi mayane mein kaam ho taki humari bacchiyon ko insaaf mile (Whatever laws we have they should be a law in real sense so that our daughters get justice)," added Asha Devi.

Narrating her ordeal, she said that she was yet to get over her daughter’s loss and her smiling face was often a facade, which she put on like an actor.

"Hum aaj bhi khul ke saans nahi le pate hain (I still feel suffocated)," she said underlining the burden in her heart.

"Sab logon ki milakar – sarkar, police – ko aisa kuch karna chahiye taki jo log aaj bhi sangharsh kar rahe hain, unhe insaaf mile , humari bacchiyon surakshit ho, aaj mission jo shuru hua hai wo kamyaab ho," (Everyone, including the government and police, should come together and do something which ensures that people get justice for their daughters, our daughters should be safe and the mission which starts today is successful)," Nirbhaya’s mother added.

Nirbhaya was raped and brutalised by six men, who dumped her on the road and left her to die. Her friend, who was with her was also severely beaten and thrown out.

She was so severely violated that her insides were spilling out when she was taken to the hospital and she died in a Singapore hospital after battling for her life for a fortnight.

Of the six, Ram Singh allegedly committed suicide in the Tihar Jail days after the trial began and the juvenile was released in 2015 after spending three years in a correctional home.