DeC 16 braveheart named in public.
New Delhi : Three years after a 23-year-old paramedical student was gang raped and brutally assaulted in a moving bus in the national Capital, triggering a massive public outrage, the mother of ‘Nirbhaya,’ the name given to the brave heart by the media, has identified her daughter. ‘‘My daughter was Jyoti Singh and I am not ashamed to name her,” she told a gathering. Making it clear that she wants the message to go out that she is proud of her daughter who is now remembered for her grit and courage, Asha Devi made it clear that rape victims should not hide their names. ‘‘It is the offenders who should be ashamed and hide their names. I want to tell everyone that my daughter’s name was Jyoti Singh. From today, everyone should know her as Jyoti Singh,” she said as her eyes welled with tears. Nirbhaya, in the days after the gruesome assault, became the mascot of the fight for women’s safety and security.
The parents, Asha Devi and Badri Singh Pandey, also demanded that the juvenile convict, allegedly the most ‘‘brutal” of the six offenders, and scheduled to be released on December 20, should not be freed as he was a threat to the city. “On the third death anniversary of our daughter, we are seeing the release of the juvenile convict. Where is justice in that? I do not know whether he is 16 or 18 I only know that he has committed a brutal crime and there should be no age limit for punishment,” Asha said. She further demanded that the five accused, including the juvenile convict, should be sentenced to death, fast-track courts be set up in the country to offer speedy justice to sexual assault victims, amendments to the Juveniles Justice Act be passed and the Nirbhaya fund be used for setting up high quality forensic labs in all states.
Celebrities like Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi and various women’s groups had converged at the Jantar Mantar to pay homage to Nirbhaya. The Jantar Mantar bylanes, after the incident, had virtually turned into a public memorial for her, with people flocking from all parts of the city to light up a candle or offer a prayer in her memory. On Wednesday also, candle light vigils and prayer meetings marked three years of the heinous gang rape that left a nation benumbed.
Shabana Azmi said: “They (Jyoti’s parents) have changed the rape discourse in the country. We need to ‘shift the blame, shift the shame’.” In Parliament, actor-politician Hema Malini said the “juvenile” convict should be given the same punishment as the other rapists, who have been sentenced to death. “The juvenile did more harm than the others. He has a devilish mind. He will not be corrected in rehabilitation. He should be punished so that everyone fears the law of the country,” Malini, a BJP parliamentarian, said in the Lok Sabha. Main input PTI and NDTV.
