Image of the girl has been blurred on the request of the person.
She is Zahira (name changed), a daughter of a petty scrap dealer who has a family of nine to support. In May 2005, the news of a very brutal gang rape received a lot of media attention. Everyone in Lucknow remembers this case as Lucknow Ashiyana Gang Rape.
Zahira was just 13-years-old when she was abducted, tortured and brutally raped by six spoiled brats. Four accused have been convicted, of which two died in road accidents. The main accused got married and settled down in the last 10 years. The case is still going on.
I was following this case through newspapers and electronic media all these years. All of a sudden, a few days back, somehow a lady at my neighborhood asked me to give tuitions to a poor needy girl. I agreed to her request. Later she told me about Zahira’s background history and I couldn’t believe how God chose me as a medium to help her!
I was expecting a serious and shy girl, but to my surprise I saw a smiling face all the time. Yes, of course, her confidence is low, but not because she has been raped, but because she is poor – extremely poor. For me, it was very strange when I asked her, “At what time do you leave home?”, and she replied, “I don’t know! We don’t have a single watch at our home.”
She wants to become a Judge, so that she can give justice to other girls like her. She also wants to learn English so that she can be at par with her fellow students at her computer coaching. She has not stepped outside for many years after that horrific experience. But gradually she has gathered the courage to study again. She has passed her 10th and wants to get a job that she deserves, not a charity gift by politicians and social workers.
She wanted to deliver a speech for Independence Day in her computer institute, so she asked me to prepare her for that day. I tried my best to boost her confidence, as she was going to be on stage for the first time. On 17th August morning, she came with a trophy to show me how happy she was when everybody applauded for her.
I was so happy to see her happy. When I asked her, “Have you shown this trophy to your father?” she giggled and said, “He said, what will we do of it? We will use it for cooking when we run out of wood…”
This story was submitted to The Logical Indian by Rashmi Tripathi. You too can share your story with us!
