Indian gang-rape victim planned to marry man attacked alongside her, friends reveal
Associated Press | Dec 31, 2012 9:42 AM ET | Last Updated: Dec 31, 2012 10:08 AM ET
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Mahesh Kumar / AP
Indian students shout slogans during
a protest rally in Hyderabad, India, Monday, Dec. 31, 2012. The
gang-rape and killing of a New Delhi student has set off an impassioned
debate about what India needs to do to prevent such a tragedy from
happening again. The country remained in mourning Monday, two days after
the 23-year-old physiotherapy student died from her internal wounds in a
Singapore hospital.
The Indian woman who was brutally
gang raped and later died of her injuries was cremated Sunday, as her
friends revealed she was engaged to marry the man attacked alongside
her.
The pair were to be married in February, The Telegraph reported.
“They had made all the wedding preparations and had planned a wedding party in Delhi,” said Meena Rai, a friend and neighbour told the newspaper. “I really loved this girl. She was the brightest of all.”
India remained in mourning Monday, two days after the 23-year-old physiotherapy student died from her internal wounds in the Singapore hospital where she had been sent for emergency treatment. Six men have been arrested and charged with murder in the Dec. 16 attack on a New Delhi bus. They face the death penalty if convicted, police said.
The country’s army and navy also cancelled New Year’s celebrations
out of respect for the woman, whose gang-rape and murder has set off an
impassioned debate about what the nation needs to do to prevent such a
tragedy from happening again.
Protesters and politicians have called for tougher rape laws, major police reforms and a transformation in the way the country treats its women.
“To change a society as conservative, traditional and patriarchal as ours, we will have a long haul,” said Ranjana Kumari, director of the Center for Social Research. “It will take some time, but certainly there is a beginning.”
“She has become the daughter of the entire nation,” said Sushma Swaraj, a leader of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.
Hundreds of mourners continued their daily protests near Parliament demanding swift government action.
“So much needs to be done to end the oppression of women,” said Murarinath Kushwaha, a man whose two friends were on a hunger strike to draw attention to the issue.
Some commentators compared the rape victim, whose name has not been
released by police, to Mohamed Bouazizi, the Tunisian street vendor
whose self-immolation set off the Arab Spring. There was hope her
tragedy could mark a turning point for gender rights in a country where
women often refuse to leave their homes at night out of fear and where
sex-selective abortions and even female infanticide have wildly skewed
the gender ratio.
“It cannot be business as usual anymore,” the Hindustan Times newspaper wrote in an editorial.
Politicians from across the spectrum called for a special session of Parliament to pass new laws to increase punishments for rapists — including possible chemical castration — and to set up fast-track courts to deal with rape cases within 90 days.
The government has proposed creating a public database of convicted rapists to shame them, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has set up two committees to look into what lapses led to the rape and to propose changes in the law.
The Delhi government on Monday inaugurated a new helpline — 181 — for women, though it wasn’t working because of glitches.
Responding to complaints that police refuse to file cases of abuse or harassment brought by women, the city force has appointed an officer to meet with women’s groups monthly and crack down on the problem, New Delhi Lt. Gov. Tejendra Khanna said.
“We have mandated that any time any lady visits a police station with a complaint, it has to be recorded on the spot,” he said.
Kumari said the Delhi police commissioner sent her a message Monday asking her group to restart police sensitivity training that it had suspended due to lack of funds.
There have also been proposals to install a quota to ensure one-third of Delhi’s police are women.
There also have been signs of a change in the public debate about crimes against women.
Other rapes suddenly have become front-page news in Indian newspapers, and politicians are being heavily criticized for any remarks considered misogynistic or unsympathetic to women.
A state legislator from Rajasthan was ridiculed Monday across TV news channels after suggesting that one way to stop rapes would be to change girls’ school uniforms to pants instead of skirts.
“How can he tell us to change our clothes?” said Gureet Kaur, a student protester in the Rajasthani town of Alwar. “Why can’t girls live freely?”
Some activists have accused politicians of being so cossetted in their security bubbles that they have no idea of the daily travails people are suffering.
Kumari said the country was failing in its basic responsibility to protect its citizens. But she was heartened to see so many young men at the protests along with women.
“I have never heard so many people who felt so deep down hurt,” she said. “It will definitely have some impact.”
With files from National Post staff
The pair were to be married in February, The Telegraph reported.
“They had made all the wedding preparations and had planned a wedding party in Delhi,” said Meena Rai, a friend and neighbour told the newspaper. “I really loved this girl. She was the brightest of all.”
India remained in mourning Monday, two days after the 23-year-old physiotherapy student died from her internal wounds in the Singapore hospital where she had been sent for emergency treatment. Six men have been arrested and charged with murder in the Dec. 16 attack on a New Delhi bus. They face the death penalty if convicted, police said.
Sajjad Hussain / AFP / Getty ImagesIndian
protesters light candles around a mannequin representing the rape
victim during a rally in New Delhi on December 31, 2012. The family of
an Indian gang-rape victim said they would not rest until her killers
are hanged as they spoke of their own pain and trauma over a crime that
has united the country in grief.
Protesters and politicians have called for tougher rape laws, major police reforms and a transformation in the way the country treats its women.
“To change a society as conservative, traditional and patriarchal as ours, we will have a long haul,” said Ranjana Kumari, director of the Center for Social Research. “It will take some time, but certainly there is a beginning.”
“She has become the daughter of the entire nation,” said Sushma Swaraj, a leader of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.
Hundreds of mourners continued their daily protests near Parliament demanding swift government action.
“So much needs to be done to end the oppression of women,” said Murarinath Kushwaha, a man whose two friends were on a hunger strike to draw attention to the issue.
Manish Swarup / AP Indian
members of All India Students' Association (AISA) shout slogans during a
protest in New Delhi, India, Monday, Dec. 31, 2012. The gang-rape and
killing of a New Delhi student has set off an impassioned debate about
what India needs to do to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.
The country remained in mourning Monday, two days after the 23-year-old
physiotherapy student died from her internal wounds in a Singapore
hospital.
“It cannot be business as usual anymore,” the Hindustan Times newspaper wrote in an editorial.
Politicians from across the spectrum called for a special session of Parliament to pass new laws to increase punishments for rapists — including possible chemical castration — and to set up fast-track courts to deal with rape cases within 90 days.
The government has proposed creating a public database of convicted rapists to shame them, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has set up two committees to look into what lapses led to the rape and to propose changes in the law.
The Delhi government on Monday inaugurated a new helpline — 181 — for women, though it wasn’t working because of glitches.
Responding to complaints that police refuse to file cases of abuse or harassment brought by women, the city force has appointed an officer to meet with women’s groups monthly and crack down on the problem, New Delhi Lt. Gov. Tejendra Khanna said.
“We have mandated that any time any lady visits a police station with a complaint, it has to be recorded on the spot,” he said.
Kumari said the Delhi police commissioner sent her a message Monday asking her group to restart police sensitivity training that it had suspended due to lack of funds.
There have also been proposals to install a quota to ensure one-third of Delhi’s police are women.
There also have been signs of a change in the public debate about crimes against women.
Other rapes suddenly have become front-page news in Indian newspapers, and politicians are being heavily criticized for any remarks considered misogynistic or unsympathetic to women.
A state legislator from Rajasthan was ridiculed Monday across TV news channels after suggesting that one way to stop rapes would be to change girls’ school uniforms to pants instead of skirts.
“How can he tell us to change our clothes?” said Gureet Kaur, a student protester in the Rajasthani town of Alwar. “Why can’t girls live freely?”
Some activists have accused politicians of being so cossetted in their security bubbles that they have no idea of the daily travails people are suffering.
Kumari said the country was failing in its basic responsibility to protect its citizens. But she was heartened to see so many young men at the protests along with women.
“I have never heard so many people who felt so deep down hurt,” she said. “It will definitely have some impact.”
With files from National Post staff
Labels: Crime, Crisis Politics, Culture, Human Relations, India, Security, Sexism, Societal Failures
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