Nirbhaya remembered but her mother has lost faith

On the fourth anniversary of the infamous gang-rape and torture of ‘Nirbhaya’, a memorial function rechristened as ‘Nirbhaya Chetna Diwas’ was observed on Friday at Jantar Mantar. 

The function was attended by leaders of various political parties and women activists from various organisations, who vented their ire at the lack of progress in carrying out the death sentence of the accused in the case. The memorial site was adorned with candles, as several protesters had also come with a black cloth muffled around their mouths, signifying the deafening silence around the issue of women safety. However, Nirbhaya’s mother minced no words when she castigated the judicial system for the slow pace of reforms and the delay in carrying out the death sentence. 

“We have been coming here at the same spot for four years, till when can we keep this up? They told us that my daughter’s case has been given over to fast track courts. Four years have passed and yet we have not got justice, the accused are still breathing while we suffer,” she said.

Speaking on the same issue, Brinda Karat, a politician affiliated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist), vented her ire, at the lack of utilisation of funds from Nirbhaya Fund. “They had dedicated Rs 1,000 crore on an annual basis for the Nirbhaya Fund and it is very shocking that despite the money, not much has been done,” she said.

Karat then turned her gaze towards Nirbhaya’s mother and said: “Ma’am you would be shocked that today (Friday) in the Parliament we had a discussion on the issue and I found that from out of 183 one-stop crisis centres which were promised, only 20 have been made. They had promised to spend on helpline numbers, CCTV cameras and public transport, yet the funds remain under utilised”.

The event was also attended by Salman Khurshid, ex-Cabinet Minister of Ministry of External Affairs. He also confirmed the fact that the funds have remained under utilised and much had to be done to improve the situation of women security in India. “It feels like that we are remembering our sisters. Our fight is not just to remember Nirbhaya’s dreams, that remain  unachieved but the fight is to make sure that no other’s girl’s dreams are snuffed out,” he said.

“Four years ago when the protesters came out in huge numbers, they were asked as to who their leaders were, they merely replied that they had no leaders. They had come because humanity was extinguished that day and they wanted to reignite those flames,” he further added.  

Despite the fact that Nirbhaya’s parents received much support, she remained bitter about the discourse of women security in India.