Shikhar Gupta
“Each time a woman stands up for herself, she stands up for all women”- Maya Angelou
Nirbhaya’s mother said with glittering pride and tears in her eyes “Today’s dawn will be new dawn for the daughters of India, as my daughter gets justice today”. This case needs no introduction. The biggest fight India has ever seen for delivering justice to rape victims. The four rapists and killers of Nirbhaya were hanged at the Tihar Jail, New Delhi.
Nirbhaya’s mother Asha Devi was surely on upfront every single day running from one court to another. She wanted justice for Nirbhaya from day one. But there was this another woman who fought as a true warrior to get the justice delivered. Media stories did not appreciate her selfless fight. This article is an ode to a brave, courageous woman Seema Kushwaha (Nirbhaya’s lawyer), the iron lady who fought a painful fight of 7 long years.
On December 16, 2012 a paramedical student aged 23 was gang raped and mercilessly left to die in a bus. The incident shook the country badly and turned into protests demanding justice for the girl who fought heroically for her last breath. Seema was pursuing her post graduation and training in lower courts when the incident happened. She aspired to be an IAS officer and stayed in a hostel in Mukherjee Nagar. She witnessed how worried parents called back other girls of the hostel after the incident. She too participated in the protests held outside Rashtrapati Bhawan in a hope that justice would be delivered soon and kept a close watch on the case. But such is the delayed justice delivering system of our country, the convicts used the loopholes of the system to delay justice.
After completing her graduation in 2014, she became Asha Devi’s lawyer. With zero experience of fighting cases, she went on fighting from trial court hearings to mercy petitions before the President. The case took various painful turns. There were times during the struggle when things didn’t work for her but she hanged on her nerves, learned and moved on. Her fight was not against a crime or justice, but to change the mindset that exploits the vulnerable and less powerful mass of the community. With strong belief and faith in law, she maintained a dignified silence while A.P. Singh (convict’s lawyer) was making remarks questioning the character of the deceased.
There came hundreds of failures in her way but none could stop her resilience, integrity and empathy. The pre dawn execution of the convicts highlights her courage to break free from personal motives and economic security. It’s because of her that Nirbhaya could finally find her peace. She is presently working with Nirbhaya Jyoti Trust, an NGO that helps women who have been oppressed and left out due to domestic violence providing them with shelter and legal assistance. She continues to struggle for voices that are unheard, fighting for the victims and serves as an inspiration for others to follow.
