The Garima Yatra (Dignity March) that started in Mumbai 65 days ago, finally culminated at Delhi on Friday and saw a massive turnout of more than 5,000 people. However, what was striking was that a majority of the victims were minors, some of whose parents are still seeking justice.

“If the rapists are not ashamed of what they have done then why should we feel shameful? We will not be bogged down,” says one of the survivors on stage, much to the applause of the 5,000 odd men and women gathered at the Ramlila Maidan for the culmination of the Dignity March.

The turnout is a grim reminder of the state of women’s safety in the country. Having started on December 20 in Mumbai, the survivors and their families travelled 10,000 Km across 24 states to share their accounts of sexual abuse without shame.

“The main purpose of our dignity march is to bring the stories of these survivors and their families among the common masses. It is to end the culture of victim shaming and blame the one who actually committed the crime”, says one of the chief co-ordinators of the event.

According to the latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau, there have been 36,022 cases reported under the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in India. This number is the largest in the world, states a report by BBC.

At the event, what was striking was that most of the victims that Patriot spoke to turned out to be parents or relatives of minors who were sexually violated.

It was the auspicious day of Makkar Sankranti but for Uma Devi and her family, the day was nothing short of a nightmare.

Hailing from a small village in UP, their day starts early like most villagers. Uma’s 17-year-old sister-in-law took her bucket and mug to relieve herself in the open like every day but what happens next changed her life—for the worse.

Right when she was about to relieve herself, two men hiding in the bushes, caught hold of her and dragged her into the nearby jungle and forced themselves on her.

“We kept waiting for her to return till the afternoon after which we went to look for her. We found the mug and bucket at the spot, but she was nowhere to be found. We went to the police but no one could locate her. She returned the next day in the morning, her kurta torn and her face distressed,” recalls Uma.

On returning back home, the survivor informed them that the men kept her in the jungle till the afternoon. In the evening, they left her at a woman’s house at a neighbouring village, Manikpur.

“She had no idea who the woman was and late into the night she left the house and walked all the way back to her home. Thankfully, the perpetrators have been arrested,” says Uma.

It has been just two months since the fateful day, January 14 to be exact, and Uma, along with her family, had come all the way to Delhi to attend the march in the hope no one else should have to go through the same trauma like they have.

In another incident that also took place just two months back at Chittarpur village of Uttar Pradesh, the survivor is almost half the age of Uma’s sister.

Paan Kumari, a farmer, left her home for work when a man took her 8-year-old daughter away on a cycle, on the pretext of taking her on a ride.

“He took her near the bridge, pulled her pants down and raped her. He fled the scene, leaving my daughter there,” recounts Kumari, her voice not even wavering once.

Once informed by the villagers, she rushed back home to her daughter and informed the police. The police took quick action and the accused is in now in jail.

Even though the traumatic episode shook her, Kumari is determined not to break down. “She is quite disturbed now. Her uterus is damaged badly but I don’t want to take her out of school. She is just 8-years-old and I don’t want this incident to bring her life to a standstill,” says Paan Kumari with a determined face.

Hailing from Punjab, Ravneet Kaur has been living in Ujjain for over a decade now for work, for which she used to leave in the morning, leaving her dyslexic daughter at home just like any other day.

It was then that a man entered their house and raped her daughter. Ravneet had no idea about it until she returned home in the evening and found her daughter in pain. Later that evening, the perpetrators were caught.

“My husband passed away long back. I got no help from anyone as my family was in Punjab. Even my son, who used to work, started staying back at home to stay with his sister. God alone knows how we managed to get through every day,” she says, almost in tears. Her daughter sitting by her side silently looks ahead.

The organising NGO opened a grocery store for them and they make a living out of that. Ravneet, along with her daughter has been a part of the march right from its start in Mumbai.

“It’s been three years now and yet we continue to hear such news every day. Whatever is happening is very wrong. It has to stop,” she adds.

But unlike Ravneet, some parents are still seeking justice for the crime committed against their child.

Hailing from Lalitpur, Uttar Pradesh, are Halli Devi and her husband, both of whom are farmers. They, along with their 8-year old daughter, led quite a simple life until three months back when a horrendous incident shook their lives.

“We both had gone to the field, and since it was a Sunday, my daughter was home, and we asked her to bring lunch for us”, she says. “Then she went and sat under a babul tree nearby when a cattle herder was passing through”, she adds. Seeing the girl alone, the boy approached her, and according to Halli Devi, made sexual advances towards her, even going to the extent of offering her money if she went with him.

“She was calling us, and until I had called her father, and we both could act, the boy took my daughter away right in front of our eyes, and we couldn’t do a thing”, she says, holding back her tears.

“After almost half a day, our daughter returned, bruises all over her body and clothes torn. When we went to the police afterwards, at first they refused to lodge a complaint because we belonged to a lower caste, and then when the boy was finally caught after we persisted, they released him two days later,” she said.

“Our daughter was such a playful child and now she has completely stopped playing. She usually remains depressed in one corner of the house. It pains to see her like that. All we want is justice for her and that is why we have come to this dignity march,” she says.

Hailing from the same village as Halli Devi, Rakesh (name changed) and his wife have undergone a traumatic incident. “I work in a factory and my wife too works outside. So, on July 17 when both of us had gone out, and our 17-year old daughter was alone at home, some boys from the Thakur clan came into our house and abducted her”, he says.

Three days after the incident, their daughter came back. “She was quiet for two days after she came back and after we repeatedly asked her what happened, she finally revealed that she had been raped multiple times in the time she was away.”

“Since we are from a lower caste, we were advised not to go against the village Thakurs, but still we complained and got their boy arrested”, says Rakesh. However, this was just a temporary victory, as something even worse awaited them.

“The fact that we got their boy arrested didn’t sit well with the Thakurs,” he says. “11 days ago, my daughter went to get her sewing lessons, and she hasn’t returned still. We suspect that the Thakurs have kidnapped her once again, and only God knows what they have done to my child,” he says, his voice shaking.

Geeta Devi, who hails from a village called Lahchura near Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh, faced a similar traumatic incident that changed her life completely. Two years ago, her 9-year old daughter was raped by a neighbour inside her house when she was not at home.

“After the incident, I went to my village police station and they refused to file a complaint. The boy was arrested eventually but released after a few days. After that, he is still roaming about the streets and the authorities have done absolutely nothing about it,” said Geeta.

“I was even sent away from my village by order of the Panchayat since no one wanted to keep contact with me and my family. Instead of blaming the accused, it looked like my daughter was the one at fault,” she recalls.

However, this didn’t deter her, rather, it made her stronger. “I will fight for my child even if I face rejection from all quarters. I have joined the dignity march to seek justice for all the other children who have been violated”, she said. “People say that rapes happen because girls wear short dresses and use mobile phones. But my question to them is: when children, as young as four months old are raped, what is their fault?”