Seven years on - NOTHING has changed

It was 16th December 2012, a day when every Indian’s breath was staggering over hearing about the most horrific and brutal assault on a young girl, which eventually led to her death.

The collective conscience of this nation was shaken. Candle-light marches, huge protests all over India, innumerable TV debates and blame games took place. It was on this day, I visited the studio to be a part of the debate with Arnab Goswami on Nirbhaya.

The then government assured us of CCTV camera monitoring, security apps, 24x7 access to the police and finally fast track courts established to deliver fast justice.

Today, it is December 2019. And here we are stunned and fuming over yet another brutal rape, assault, gang rape and a spine chilling murder where the girl was burnt alive. My question as a mother, as a woman, as a human and as an Indian - WHAT CHANGED IN 7 YEARS?

Not even 7 things that were promised. Fast track courts did not deliver and don’t even have the presence of a judge. The Supreme Court kept giving dates. Lawyers kept appearing for the accused monsters. The cannibals are still allowed to be enjoying biryani on tax-payers' money, though in jail.

The mothers are crying their hearts out, the governments - both state and Centre - are busy with their election campaigning, they will not legislate or pass bills which were promised for women's security.

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I write these words with the most gut-wrenching feeling. We are told to bring our daughters up with the right education, freedom, self-respect, dignity and independence. We are told to value our country and stop brain-drain. We are asked to have our children stay here to make this country a better place to live. The day we are proud to hold their degrees and their first paycheck, we believe as parents, we have accomplished what was told.

When we were told about how to bring up our child, why weren’t we told about the lack of safety this country would assure us?

Why weren’t we told about the constant calls we’ll have to make to ensure the cab driver bringing my child home isn’t a potential rapist? The most basic assurance of safety is something we are fighting for today. And the reason we are fighting for it even after 7 years is because you LET them scare us. You LET them get away. You LET them touch us again. You LET them feel the assurance that they could get away AGAIN.

Our PM’s slogan ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao.’ & ‘Nari tu Narayani’ remains mere rhetoric. The silence is deafening. Where is justice?

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Lakshmi Ananthanarayana, a Republic viewer from Bengaluru, writes after appearing on the debates with Arnab Goswami on the gruesome Nirbhaya and Disha gangrape-murder cases - 7 years apart

(The views and opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts, analysis, assumptions and perspective appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Republic TV/ Republic World/ ARG Outlier Media Pvt. Ltd.)