New Delhi, March 6 (IANS) Neelam Krishnamurthy, Neelam Katara, Indu Jalali, Sabina Lall...They are all women who have been moved by personal tragedy to step into India's courts day after day to bring culprits to book, inspiring in the process hundreds of thousands who had lost faith in the system.
So what does International Women's Day March 8 mean to them?
Krishnamurthy, convener of the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT), who lost two of her children in the Uphaar fire tragedy that claimed 59 innocent lives in 1997, believes it is about determination.
'Women's Day is not about someone taking a prize in the auditorium amidst a small crowd, it's about their empowerment at the grassroots,' Krishnamurthy told IANS.
She said women's empowerment starts from home where a father gives equal rights to his daughter, a husband gives due respect to his wife and a brother gives equal liberty to his sister.
'Strong determination is the only way out if women want to make their presence felt in a male-dominated society,' Krishnamurthy said.
She has been at the forefront of the Uphaar case, which last year saw a lower court convicting business tycoon brothers Sushil and Gopal Ansal along with 10 others. But nothing has been able to fill the vacuum created by the death of her children.
'People say life moves on, but only those who go through pain know that it never does. I feel as if I have been served a living death sentence all these years, fighting for justice,' said Krishnamurthy.
'All my friends and relatives wanted me to adopt a child, but I could never do it. They didn't understand my pain. That is when I realised that no one can help you and you have to deal with your grief on your own,' Krishnamurthy said.
Indu Jalali, who fought for justice for her friend Priyadarshini Mattoo under the banner of 'Justice for Priyadarshini', said: 'In the beginning we were not taken seriously by anyone and instead everyone discouraged us. But our determination helped us in sailing through the tides of sorrow and pain.'
Priyadarshini was brutally raped and murdered Jan 23, 1996, in broad daylight in a south Delhi locality by her senior at the Law Faculty, Delhi University, Santosh Kumar Singh, the son of a senior police officer. He was given the death sentence by the Delhi High Court in October 2006.
'No one supported us but with time and the help of people belonging to various sections of society, justice was achieved,' said Jalali.
'Women need to get rid of taboos prevailing in our society and come out strongly against injustice to them. Until they make themselves heard, no one will help them,' she said.
The resolute face of Sabrina Lall was one splashed in the media time and again as she fought for justice for her sister Jessica who was shot dead by Manu Sharma, the son of a powerful and wealthy politician, in April 1999.
Even as her parents died during the course of trial, Sabrina carried on her fight, inspiring the nation to back her with all its might. In 2006, the Delhi High Court sentenced Manu Sharma to life imprisonment and two other accomplices and co-accused to four years in jail.
Neelam Katara, the mother of Nitish Katara, is another such woman. Nitish was kidnapped and killed allegedly by ex-Rajya Sabha MP D.P. Yadav's son Vikas and his cousin Vishal Yadav in February 2002. The case is still pending in a trial court.
As she waits for justice, Neelam Katara said: 'The system needs to be more sensitive towards women, especially in cases of rape and molestation where the protection of their identity is more important.
'Education of women needs to be strengthened and only then will they be able to take important decisions of their life themselves.'
(http://in.news.yahoo.com/indiaabroad/20080306/
r_t_ians_nl_general/tnl-be-determined-say-women-fighting-for-b9e311f.html)
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