“I dozed off out of anxiety just few hours before the scheduled hanging of Nirbhaya rapists. I was worried that it might get delayed further, but I woke up to congratulatory and celebratory messages. I couldn’t help but cry for Asha maa, papa, Shruti, and Nirbhaya. For the first time in India, four rapists were hanged together. It is indeed historic, but I just kept crying at the thoughts of Nirbhaya and the gruesome details of what happened with her. Hanging and death cannot be a reason for celebration, but justice must be. I continued to cry at the reflection of our twisted society. A society where human rights activists who fought for lives of rapists, also fight for abortion in the same breath, where the change.org petition to hang rapists has over 3 lakh signatures, but my petition on making women’s commission functional only has 20k. A society that lets crimes against women happen 24×7 but fails to question or change attitudes of itself.
I don’t know if today’s hanging is going to serve as a deterrent or not. But, I want the parents/ folks of all rape and murder victims to fight like Asha maa and her family for Justice. Their spirit and resilience needs to resonate with every family. In a county where victims are told they have brought shame over family, this fight and justice is definitely going to serve as a deterrent to regressive mindsets.
As I write this, my team from #WomComMatters is preparing to rescue a young woman from domestic violence within her influential family. What hurts me the most is the parents’ urge to marry off daughters to absolute strangers at the ‘right time’ rather than invest the same emotion towards her career and other ambitions in life.
Everytime I am out late for work or otherwise, I am told ‘intiki cherukogaane call/ text cheyyi’. I tell them ‘No!’. I do not want to engage in any conversation which pushes me into fear rather than building my agency to act. I want all parents, friends, families to be done with this useless ‘concern’ and start asking better questions like “Why is the Telangana Womens Commission defunct since 18 months ?”
While we celebrate the justice today, let us not forget the society that made these rapists. Us. Let us not forget to extend empathy to the families of those hanged, who are most likely to be outcaste and ostracized. Let us do something towards increasing Women Safety everyday.
I am still crying. But, Nirbhaya will live through many of us. And may she and Asha maa continue to inspire us all to have the courage and strength to fight for our justice.”

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