India Gang Rape Outrage Intensifies

This story of course follows in the shadow of the notorious gang rape and murder of a 23-year old physiotherapy student on a bus in Delhi in 2012. In that case, a young woman and her male friend had boarded a bus just after 9 pm on 16 December 2012. The young woman was then gang-raped by the driver and five other men on the bus while her friend was badly beaten up. Naked and bloodied, the couple were thrown by the roadside to die. Discovered later by passers-by Nirbhaya (the press gave her this name – meaning ‘the fearless one’) they were taken to hospital but Nirbhaya died as a result of their injuries two weeks later.  Her friend survived but is scarred for life.

But the question remains as to whether progress is being made.

Recently released National Crime Records Bureau statistics for 2016 make for grim reading – crimes against women are on the rise.

There are still thousands of brides murdered for dowrys, tens of thousands of rape cases against both women and minors, hundreds of thousands of domestic violence incidents and the ongoing horror of selective female foetus abortions.

But strength must be taken from the tenacity of the women (and men) who look to shine light on these issues and who simply refuse to give up the fight. This is where hope lies for a better future for women in India.