“Amma, you know you are more than this thesis and your doctoral degree right?”

For a couple seconds I was stumped and then felt super stupid and then super relaxed and relieved.

Yes, I was holding on to this day as though it were a day of verdict on my self worth and dignity and something to prove to all those who ridiculed and turned their back when I needed them the most. To me this day seemed like the day justice would be served for all that I had to endure to get here. Years of struggle, pain, anxiety, exhaustion, humiliation, frustration…..Days when I wanted to give up and days I had to give it all in…..

That fact that we are all survivors is in itself, is the journey of justice. That fact that we could not be crushed , no matter what and who stood against us. And that we continue to speak up with dignity, is justice served.

May we attach our dignity and worth to our authentic selves, on what we know about who we are, and not hold it all in one part of our life, whether it be a career, an exam, a person, a degree, an event or a body part.

Justice begins the day we voice about what matters to us, justice is in the journey itself. There is neither an end or means ; nor can it rest with a verdict by one judge in one court or one degree or one peer review or one paper published or an award or anything outside of us.

Justice is what we claim for ourselves and not something that can be given.

Prof Dr. Joske Bunder's narration sums it all up and I will cherish this a lifetime, as she always reminds me of seeking justice by viewing it as a beautiful journey of a lifetime for oneself and others.