"We Are Still In 2012": Nirbhaya's Mother On 10 Years Of Daughter's Murder

We are still in 2012, Nirbhaya's mother Asha Devi, who was out in the streets in Delhi's Dwarka demanding safety and justice for women in the national capital, told NDTV. Today is the 10th anniversary of the gruesome rape and murder of Nirbhaya, which shook the country and triggered strict new legislation dealing with crime against women.

"10 years have passed. If women were safe, everyone got justice and could get reports files easily, then we would not have stood here on the road with placards," she said when asked if things have improved in the last decade.

Citing examples of an acid attack on a young girl in Delhi two days ago, and another woman who was chopped into pieces, she requested the government and the Supreme Court to ensure justice.

She also referred to the 2012 rape and killing of a 19-year-old woman in Delhi's Chhawala area, where the rapists and killers were recently set free by the Supreme Court, and said it was an example "that women in the country are not safe, and aren't getting justice". 

The Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government has said it will challenge the Supreme Court's order acquitting the three convicts in this case.

In the Supreme Court, the Delhi Police cited the heinous nature of the crime and argued against any concession whatsoever to the convicts.

A lot of mothers whose daughters were killed are with us here, who are going from court to court, she said, pointing to a group of women who reportedly joined her in hopes to get justice for their children too.

"They have hope in me that I can get them justice, so I request the government and the Supreme Court, on the occasion of 10 years of Nirbhaya being murdered, that they grant justice to our country's girls. Fix your security arrangements. We are in Delhi, and not safe here as well. We are still in 2012," she said.

Protesters who joined her also said that most people aren't aware of strict legislation, and even the Nirbhaya fund, brought in after the gruesome 2012 rape-murder and that women still fear venturing out of their homes after 9 pm in the national capital.