Rape and Power: Ravaged at 13, She’s Still Fighting 11 Years Later

Photo used for representational purpose. (Photo: The Quint)

Indian judiciary has once again let down one of its most vulnerable subjects; after eleven long years, there is still no justice for the Ashiana rape survivor.

The young woman from Lucknow has been put through over thirty five court appearances, six separate trials and endless, tireless legal battles.

In April, when the last of her gang rapists was sentenced to 10 years in prison, she put on her pink sari and distributed sweets to all her friends and supporters.

Even so, her journey isn’t over.

How It Happened

The survivor, aged 13 and employed as a housemaid, was on her way home from work with her little brother when four drunk men, aged between 17 and 19, kidnapped her.

I have thought about this continuously. Why did they do this to me? Why did they ruin my life...just because they had money and I’m poor?

The survivor recalled the young men torturing her, sodomising her with a gun and burning her skin with their lighters.

The police found her panties, her hair and her sandals at the crime scene, a house owned by the politically powerful family of Gaurav Shukla, who was an 18 year old charged with attempted murder and conspiracy in another case called Gangster Court.

A Wearisome Journey to Justice

The family, though supportive, was shaken by how their daughter was ravaged, and terrified by the threats they received to drop the case.

The police eventually arrested Shukla and 5 accomplices the summer of the incident, with the help of a tipster and their telephonic records. Two men were convicted in 2007, one in 2013. Two juveniles were sent to detention facilities.

After the Nirbhaya rape case, the government made its laws on sexual harassment and rape far more stringent. This case was referred to a fast track court.

Nirbhaya Fund was among a series of measures taken by the government following the outrage over the Delhi gangrape. (Photo: Reuters)

Despite this, Shukla continued to miss hearings and one was rescheduled due to a strike.

When the survivor saw her attacker after years, she grew so distressed that she threw up after testifying against him.

The Trial and Verdict

The trial concluded in February and Shukla was convicted in April. He was also charged with forging a high school certificate to say he was a minor at the time of the rape.

His lawyer called it a false conviction and said that it was based purely on the victim’s testimony, with no proof that Shukla was physically present there. He could come out on bail while awaiting appeal. He could also be freed. 

The victim is now in her mid 20s, and is entering class 12 of resumed school education. She hopes to become a judge someday and marry somebody who accepts her, and doesn’t merely see her as the “rape girl”.

She is no longer scared of all men, as they treat her with respect and explain to her the things she doesn’t understand in English.

Also Read:
Lucknow Ashiana Gang Rape Survivor: Want to Be a Judge,
How Do You Talk to a Father Whose Daughter Has Been Raped?

(Source: The Washington Post)