16th December marks the 10th anniversary of the Nirbhaya rape case. A lot has transpired in these 10 years. There have been lots of changes in politics, and technology and even stringent laws have been implemented, but this has not brought in a major change in the condition of women. On the 10^th anniversary of the Nirbhaya rape case, The Mooknayak spoke to Asha Singh, the mother of the victim of that horrific tragedy. Here are the excerpts from that interview.

Will always regret that was not able to bring one boy to Justice

Discussing about the last ten years the eyes of Asha Singh had both the tears and the grievances on the atrocities on women. She told that a lot has changed in the last few years, but we have been deprived of happiness. We were not very rich when Nirbhaya was alive, but still we were a happy family. She was the eldest daughter. She would have been 33 years old now, but what can we do?

Tears well up in her eyes while saying this. She says that she had to wage a long battle to get justice for her daughter. But still, there will be remorse that one of the monsters could not be hanged. She says "That case went to the Juvenile court as per the law; therefore he was not hanged. Even the name of that accused is not known to anyone. No one knows him. Even if he comes near us we will not be able to identify him. If tomorrow he commits the same crime, no one will be able to identify him. Therefore, he was also supposed to get the punishment. But the government helped him and he escaped the noose."

The twinge of not able to give her water lingers with us

The last 12 days of her life were very critical and we were not able to provide her with water. I remember that when she was asked for water and was denied (not recommended by the doctor) her face wilted and even today when we pick a glass of water, the twinge of not being able to provide her water lingers with us.

Dissatisfaction with the Supreme Court's verdict

The next moment the anger is palpable in her eyes. Denouncing the verdict in the recent Chawla rape case, she says that Supreme Court is often seen as a last resort, but the family has not been given justice. "I respect the Supreme Court, but not this verdict". Expressing sympathy for the family, she says "She was kidnapped from near her house and raped in the jungle for three days and her body was found later. Her parents struggled for ten years. The culprits were sentenced to death from the lower court but now they have been acquitted on the grounds that the police did not work properly. This emboldens the criminals."

Targeting the police, she says that "the police should do their jobs honestly". If they do their work honestly our daughters will not be subjected to such cruelty. Our daughters are being subjected to violence. I am aggrieved with the police for this."

The Government should be sensitive in the case of Bilkis Bano

She also has disappointment and anger for the government. She says that it is a matter of shame that the culprits were welcomed with garlands. "The government is pardoning the rapists only by looking at their behavior the public thinks that how can a rapist's behaviour be good. The government needs to be sensitive on the issue."

Working to get justice for rape victims

Asha Singh always reiterates the fact that "nothing has changed in the last ten years". Rather, the atrocities have increased with our daughters". Yesterday a boy threw acid on a girl. She is admitted to the hospital. Don't know why the people are doing this".

She is running an NGO "Nirbhaya Jyoti Singh". She helps the rape victims. She says "When the crime was committed against our daughter, we were not knowing anything about how to pursue the case legally. Gradually, we understood things over the years. I am doing this work so that no rape victim is deprived of justice. I help victims all over the country. So that other girls also get the same justice as was given to my daughter."

[Story Translated by Pratikshit Singh]