amritaspeaks

Suzette Jordan has defied all perceptions of women in India. And for that, she has had to fight a battle which is still on – she is still awaiting the verdict over the Park Street gang rape case where she was the victim on the night of February 5, 2012. But in her refusal to cower down to the forces against her, she has won herself a stream of admirers, of which, I am definitely one.

Suzette chose to push away the trauma and despair that threatened to take over her life. She decided to talk about her experience to the media, reclaim her name which had become “the Park Street rape victim”, and repossess her face that had become a consistent blur on television and newspapers and, most importantly, find her voice that had been swallowed up by the storm that hit her on that fateful night.

Read her earlier interview here : https://amritaspeaks.com/2013/07/04/after-revealing-my-identity-as-the-park-street-rape-victim-i-have-got-more-respect-and-also-more-threats-suzette-jordan/

Now Suzette has been invited to the THiNK 2013, to talk her mind alongside speakers like Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar, Medha Patkar, Shekhar Kapur, Robert De Niro, Farooq Abdullah and Garry Kasparov and a host of other notable personalities from around the world.

Organised by Tehelka, THiNK is a thought-provoking and egalitarian platform for ideas from across the globe.  http://thinkworks.in/

“I am honoured to be part of THiNK 2013. There is a lot to say and I am glad I have got this platform,” Suzette told me.

“Life has been a realization for me since the incident happened. I have been constantly made to feel like a piece of shit, humiliated at every opportunity and fooled considerably, but I have refused to give up my dignity. It has been terribly hard but today I am glad I did not give up,” she said.

At THiNK 2013, Suzette will be talking about her ongoing struggle and how life can be made a bit easier for women going through trauma like her. “You need counsellors to help you deal with things like post-traumatic disorder, something I had never heard of before. You need them to accompany you to the medical tests or prepare you for the gruelling sessions at the court,” said Suzette, adding, “I have to actually mentally and physically prepare myself for the cross-questioning in court so that my nerves don’t give way.”

After the Nirbhaya verdict, Suzette has much hope. She has so far has been through 16 such cross-questioning sessions and awaits more but she believes in patience. “It is not possible to hurry law and I know I have to be patient. Everything is worth it if there is justice in the end,” said Suzette.