Nirbhaya's father says everyone must watch the documentary 'India's Daughter'
'India's Daughter', the documentary based on the 2012 Delhi gang-rape, holds a mirror to the society and its mindset, and should be watched by everybody, Nirbhaya's father said today, questioning the ban on its screening in India.
"Everyone should watch the film. If a man can speak like that in jail, imagine what he would say if he was walking free," said the father of the young woman who was brutally gang-raped, tortured and killed by six men, including a 17-year-old, on a moving bus.
The woman came to be known as "Nirbhaya" or fearless, and became a symbol for India's fight to check crimes against women.
"The documentary exposes what is happening. If the country has taken a decision, we have to accept it," he told NDTV.
The documentary by British filmmaker Leslee Udwin, which includes interviews of Nirbhaya's parents, doctors, the police, lawyers and one of the rapists, was aired by the BBC on Wednesday night.
Mukesh Singh, one of the four men sentenced to death for the horrific rape and murder, has said in an interview from jail that the woman was to be blamed, displaying complete lack of remorse.
On Wednesday, the government said it would not allow the film's screening and investigate how permission was granted for the rapist's interview. But as Parliament debated it, there were strong voices against the ban.
"Talking in Parliament does not help. Why are the convicts still alive? Why have they not been hanged yet? Who are they to tell a woman what to wear or what to do? How will the campaign 'Beti Padao, Beti Bachao' (educate, save our daughters) work if our daughters are not alive?" Nirbhaya's father said.
Nirbhaya's mother expressed her helplessness at hearing the outrageous comments of the rapist and his defence lawyers. "Why can't the government take action against lawyers who talk about my daughter like that?"
She said showing the documentary would only highlight the reality. "I feel now that whether the rapists are punished or not, our family will certainly be hanged."