Rape has become a part of our culture, says ‘Nirbhaya’ mother

Asha Devi’s voice is heavy with helplessness over the phone. On the fourth anniversary this week of the horrific Nirbhaya incident in 2012, she will be sitting at the Jantar Mantar again. Jyoti Singh’s (Nirbhaya) mother says this is all she can do because nothing has changed.

“I cannot understand anymore what I can do. Rape has become a part of our culture and our society has accepted it. A news report about a woman getting raped does not shock anyone anymore. But the family who has to lose their child, can never forget the injustice done to them,” said Asha Devi.

“There won’t be any large scale rallies or mass mobilisation efforts. I am going to go to Jantar Mantar and be there. We have tried so hard to bring about positive changes in the law. The law and order situation is something that I cannot change just because I want to. But I can expect my society to try to change itself. People who rape women are also products of our society. They are among us and they are part of us. If we change our attitudes, it will definitely affect the sick mindset of such people who think that they can play with a woman’s dignity,” Asha Devi said.

Asha Devi’s 23-year-old daughter Jyoti Singh was a physiotherapy intern in Delhi who was beaten, gang raped, and tortured in a private moving bus on 16 December 2012.

She was returning after watching a movie with her friend, Awindra Pratap Pandey, on the night of the fatal assault in Munirka in South Delhi. The six other men in the bus who were posing as passengers were the driver’s friends who physically assaulted Awindra Pratap and gang-raped Jyoti. Jyoti died 13 days later, succumbing to her injuries in a Singapore hospital. There had been widespread protests across the country as public anger took over.

However, since 2012, neither have rape incidents witnessed any decrease in numbers nor has the law and order situation changed, in general.

During an informal discussion with this reporter, a senior official of Delhi police said, “For the police in Delhi, the crime which is the biggest nuisance is rape. Earlier, Delhi used to have gangs, notorious burglars, car thieves, etc. There used to be smugglers who were a big challenge and then there were some sharp shooters. Police had to fight these people. But now there are no organised gangs as such. There is no mastermind rackets that have made Delhi police lose its sleep. There is crime and still there are criminals. But, comparatively, things are largely under control, except rape. It has been a real challenge for the police to be able to come up with an effective blue-print to fight rape.”

There a number of initiatives that Delhi Police has launched like introducing an all women PCR van, conducting self-defence classes for the public, women’s help-line number etc., but none of these have resulted in a decrease in the number of rape cases being reported in the country.

Delhi police has maintained that the rising number of FIRs in rape cases is due to increasing awareness among people that encourages them to report the crime.

However, Asha Devi said, “Yes, more women report sexual offences now because of awareness among the public. Women want to report such crimes now though there still remains a taboo attached. But the crime has been increasing as well. Even after our daughter’s case, there have been major gang-rape incidents in the country that made it to national news. How can we claim that rape has not increased?”