Delhi braveheart's parents say they are still overcome with grief over the tragic death of their daughter
It has been a tumultuous year for the parents of the medical student who was savagely gang-raped on a moving bus on December 16, 2012. There is numbing loss, the ravages of a legal battle not yet over and deep disappointment that "despite changes in law, we are yet to get justice."
And yet in their shattered hearts they hold a message of comfort for other young women who, like their 23-year-old daughter, have suffered sexual violence, but unlike her, have survived the assault. "The shame is the rapist's, not yours," said the parents of India's braveheart, who died in a Singapore hospital 13 days after she was attacked by six men on the bus.
Speaking to NDTV, the parents said they want women to break their silence: "People should report any incident to the police. Make sure that those guilty are punished."
The student was heading home with a male friend after an evening showing of the movie "Life of Pi" in the heart of Delhi, when they got into a private bus. Six men on the bus beat the man with a metal bar, raped the woman and used the bar to inflict massive internal injuries.
The two were dumped naked on the roadside. The woman died on December 29.
Four of the men accused in the case were swiftly tried by a Delhi court and were sentenced to death. Another hanged himself in prison, though his family insists he was killed. And an 18-year-old, who was a juvenile at the time of the attack, was sentenced to three years in a reform home.
The parents said lawyers defending the men are delaying proceedings in court and "our daughter's sacrifice hasn't shown desired results." They want the death sentence for the juvenile too.
The savage attack spurred intense debate about the way India treats its women. The student became a rallying cry for tens of thousands protesting the treatment of women.
New laws have made stalking, voyeurism and sexual harassment a crime. There is now a fast-track court for rape cases. In some ways, the case cracked a cultural taboo surrounding discussion of sexual violence in a country where rape is often viewed as a woman's personal shame to bear.