Anushka Sharma : We need accountability in the system
Actors Imran Khan and Anushka Sharma, who were in town to promote their upcoming release, talk about the Delhi gang-rape case and more
Actors Imran Khan and Anushka Sharma, who were in Bangalore recently to promote their upcoming flick Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola, felt strongly about the Delhi gang-rape case. Both actors have acted in films with Delhi-centric themes and feel that recent incidents have raised an alarm like never before.
“While the incident happened in Delhi, this is something that affects everyone. Safety of women has been a concern for people in India always, but this has triggered off a reaction that will hopefully be sustained long enough to bring about justice,” says Imran.
Anushka adds, “The accused need to be severely punished. We’re here fighting for the obvious, which is a really astonishing fact. The real fact of the matter is that we need to bring in accountability in the system. The people need to ensure that the laws are implemented and the law enforcers ensure that justice is given.”
The two actors, both known for their forthright attitudes, said that they wanted to be in Delhi to protest with the rest of the nation. “But, the irony is that people will then point fingers at us saying that we are out there only for publicity of our new film and that we don’t really mean what we are saying,” says Imran, who believes that youth of the nation need to keep this issue burning till the desired justice is achieved.
Says Anushka, “As a woman, it feels unsafe that people cannot walk out on the streets in the night. It is a scary thought and if India needs to be seen as a progressive country, then people need to ensure that they respect women and allow them to live freely first.”
2012 Delhi gang rape and murder
The 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder case involved a rape and fatal assault that occurred on 16 December 2012 in Munirka, a neighbourhood in South Delhi. The incident took place when Jyoti Singh, a 23-year-old female physiotherapy intern, was beaten, gang-raped, and tortured in a private bus in which she was travelling with her male friend. There were six others in the bus, including the driver, all of whom raped the woman and beat her friend. Eleven days after the assault she was transferred to a hospital in Singapore for emergency treatment but died two days later. The incident generated widespread national and international coverage and was widely condemned, both in India and abroad. Subsequently, public protests against the state and central governments for failing to provide adequate security for women took place in New Delhi, where thousands of protesters clashed with security forces. Similar protests took place in major cities throughout the country. Since Indian law does not allow the press to publish a rape victim’s name, the victim was widely known as Nirbhaya, meaning “fearless”, and her struggle and death became a symbol of women’s resistance to rape around the world.
