The Fearless One

Nirbhaya's Mother

16th December, 2012. A cold winter night that would shake the entirety of India and a night that would spark arguably the largest public uprising and protest for women’s safety in the country. It was just a simple bus ride for the 23-year-old student in Delhi, but her future and the country’s future would change forever. She was given a new name by the press. Nirbhaya - the fearless one. 

Nirbhaya, legally named Jyoti Singh, was brutally assaulted, gang-raped, and tortured while travelling on the bus with her friend Awindra Pandey. Simply returning from a movie, they boarded an off-duty bus at the Munirka bus stand in which there were six other men, including the bus driver. The bus then started going off-route, and immediately Pandey raised an objection, but he was ultimately silenced. The drunk men molested Nirbhaya, repeatedly gang-raping her for over an hour. 

While she was fighting back, struggling to survive and escape, one of the men inserted an iron rod into her privates, pulling and ripping her intestines apart. Then the two of them were thrown outside of the bus to die at the side of the road. Later, when she was admitted to a hospital, where she eventually succumbed to her injuries, it was found that she only had 5% of her intestines left inside her body. 

Nirbhaya’s case led to major development in India, such as the creation of the Verma Committee. Stricter punishments for sexual violence and expanded definitions of assault were introduced as well. Her story revealed the fear that every single woman in India felt and still feels today. The danger that surrounds women, even at a bus stop.