A 23 year-old woman was stripped, beaten and raped in a moving bus in South Delhi on December 16, 2012, stirring shock and outrage [1] in India.
The victim and her male companion, who was also beaten with an iron rod, were then thrown off the bus, and dumped semi naked near Delhi's Mahipalpur flyover. She is now in the hospital with critical injuries.
The victim, a physiotherapist and her companion, a 28-year-old software engineer, were returning from watching a movie, when they got [2] on to the private luxury bus which was en route to Dwarka. The bus driver along with six others, allegedly gang raped the woman. The police tracked down [3] the bus and have arrested four persons [4].
Every year hundreds of rapes are registered in Delhi and hundreds more are not reported. In India rape is considered taboo which leads to few cases being registered. This incident has raised a lot of questions regarding public safety [5] in the Indian capital.
The matter has been the talk of the town and was also been addressed in the parliament [6]. But the most buzz was found on social media.
Perhaps Moonmoon Ghosh's Twitter status catches the frustration most:
@mooninanfield [7] (Moonmoon Ghosh): Scary to be a woman in #Delhi. Actually, in whole of India. Sick. http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities [8]
[9]Posters from the Delhi Slutwalk. Image by Rahul Kumar. Copyright Demotix (30/07/2011)
More reactions in Twitter:
@vanithaj [10]: Delhi rape victim intestine and private parts hurt badly-doctors report. Is death punishment right for accused? No, hurt their private parts
@ArvindKejriwal7 (Arvind Kejriwal) [11]:635 rapes regd in delhi during 2012. Anyone punished so far? No? Doesn't it encourage such crimes? Each rape case shud be decided in 1 month
@anandmahindra (Anand Mahindra) [12]: The right measure of anger has built up in response to the Delhi gangrape. Media&social media need to sustain relentless pressure for action
@JusticeForWomen [13]: #RAPE is not a #DELHI problem. Women and very young girls are raped EVERYDAY and EVERYWHERE in #India – The issue needs NATIONAL focus.
A Woman in Today's India [14] is furious:
This is not the first time it has happened. It will not be the last!
It will happen again, and again, and again, multiple times in a day, across this great, goddess-worshipping nation called India. [..]
Rapes happen in India, because we are a callous nation.
An Indian Homemaker [15] has a lot of questions:
What do you think made these rapists in Delhi so fearless? [..]
Do you think our society really sees rapists as serious criminals? Many of us seem to see rape as something that happens when a rapist is not able to control himself. It seems we have special standards for judging sexual criminals, and rapists know this.
Lakshmi Chaudhry [16] writes:
Each time a sensational rape hits the headlines, each time a politician opens his or her mouth, it is an unwelcome reminder of this other India, of our slower, more dangerous twin that stubbornly refuses to grow or change. It is also irrefutable evidence that it is our world that is not entirely real, existing solely in a carefully guarded bubble built on the delusion of safety. A bubble that can be breached at will by the other India that we try so hard to insulate ourselves from.
[17]Men participating at the Delhi Slutwalk. Image by Rahul Kumar. Copyright Demotix
Ritu Lalit [18] posts an open letter to social activists, law makers and law enforcers. An excerpt:
I would like to draw your attention to the actual downtrodden of our country, our women. Why has the plight of our women escaped your notice? Why cant you froth in the mouth for them? The most public figures among you are women, and they freak about something that happened in 2002!
The Pregnant Thought [19] opines:
The rape culture in delhi was not born yesterday. It is the illegitimate child of our unruly upbringing. Delhi hasn't failed. We have failed.
We have strict laws, we don't have proper implementation. More than stricter laws, we need a more open culture. What kind of culture is this where sex is a bad word, and rape is a norm.
What would it take for us to understand that “to address an issue, you need to undress it”
Wake up. Open up!