Six
men may face the death penalty after a student was attacked on a bus.
Her death may be a turning point in the nation's attitude to women,
reports Jason Burke in Delhi
Protesters and
mourners attend a vigil in Delhi as a student’s death galvanises Indians
to demand greater protection for women. Photograph: Ahmad
Masood/Reuters
At seven o'clock on Saturday night, they lit the candles – on
Juhu Beach, where Mumbai meets the Indian Ocean; in the centre of the
bustling southern cities of Hyderabad and Bengaluru (formerly
Bangalore); at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in chaotic, poverty-stricken
Lucknow, 1,000 miles to the north.
Simultaneously, thousands of people across this vast nation remembered a still anonymous 23-year-old medical student who, late on Friday night, died of injuries sustained when she was raped and brutalised with an iron bar by six men on a moving bus in Delhi two weeks ago.
In Delhi itself, a city full of temples, mosques and churches, scores gathered at a shrine set up at the bus stop where, tired of waiting for the rare public buses after a trip to see the film Life of Pi, the young woman and her male friend had accepted a lift from the men who would rape her. Whether those in the crowd were mourners, protesters or both was unclear. Under the hastily printed posters reading "You Inspired Us All" and "No to Violence to Women", they too lit their candles. "We are feeling very sad. We are feeling very angry. Now we hope our lives will change," said Archana Balodi, a 24-year-old student.
The six men who are accused of the attack were charged on Saturday with murder, an offence which can be punished by death in India. Even this would be insufficent, said some demonstrators. "Hanging them is not enough. They should be tortured like she was," said Srishdi Kumar, 16. "Then maybe there will be a change. Why not?"
The victim died of organ failure after internal injuries sustained during an assault that lasted for more than an hour. She and her male friend were thrown from the moving bus.
Few now doubt that India, and particularly Delhi, has a problem with rape and sexual violence against women. In recent weeks the issue has changed from being "a privately accepted fact" to a "public cause", said the local Indian Express newspaper. Now many are talking about a turning point.
"In legal terms, it can be [a turning point] if there is the political will. But more broadly it could be a turning point for young women in India. They have seen and sensed the power of their united voice and their resistance, and that is critical," Brinda Karat, a veteran activist and Communist MP, told the Observer.
Many have been angered by the response of the authorities since the incident. While leading figures of the beleaguered ruling Congress party pledged action and spoke of their deep sadness on Saturday, a huge security operation was under way in the capital city to prevent demonstrators reaching parliament, the India Gate war memorial or their own official residences.
Protests last weekend turned violent with water cannon, teargas and baton charges used to disperse demonstrators. But there appeared to be no such threat on Saturday and the massed ranks of police looked like an over-reaction rooted in the paranoia and aloofness of India's political elite.
In a rare televised address, Sonia Gandhi, president of the Congress party, said that she spoke as "a mother and a woman", and called for efforts to counter "shameful social attitudes and mindsets that allow men to rape with such impunity".
Sexual harassment – known locally as "Eve-teasing" – is endemic in India. The belief that women are responsible for sexual assault is widespread. This year a series of rapes in rural areas in the state of Haryana, which is adjacent to Delhi, led to suggestions from politicians and community leaders that much sexual violence was consensual.
Investigations have revealed similar attitudes among the police. Women who report rapes are repeatedly ignored or even harassed themselves.
In the wake of the most recent incident, dozens of other rapes, often by multiple assailants, have been reported by the media across India. More than 24,000 rape cases were registered with the authorities in 2011, a 9% increase on the previous year.
In one incident reported last week, police took 14 days to register a complaint from a 17-year-old in Patiala, in the north-western state of Punjab, who attempted to report a gang rape. She later took her own life. Two officers have been sacked and one suspended.
The government has set up two committees to recommend new measures to combat sexual violence against women. One is likely to be the publication on the internet of a register of sex offenders; others include fast-track courts and a higher proportion of female police officers.
But the events of the past week have also revealed a growing gulf between young Indians and the ageing political class. The prime minister, Manmohan Singh, an 80-year-old former economist, encountered derision when he described the "emotions and energies this incident has generated" as "perfectly understandable reactions from a young India and an India that genuinely desires change".
Sheila Dikshit, the chief minister of Delhi – an otherwise popular figure who said she felt ashamed "not just as [chief minister], but as a citizen of India" – was booed when she tried to visit one of the protests in the city on Saturday . Few among the overwhelmingly youthful protesters had much confidence in their leaders. Many asked why they should trust political parties who in the last five years have fielded candidates for state elections that included 27 charged with rape and scores more under investigation for harassment and assault.
Brinda Karat said some good might yet come out of the tragedy – but at a high cost. "There has been a critical shift," she said. "But how many young lives and how many young women have to be sacrificed for change to happen?"
Simultaneously, thousands of people across this vast nation remembered a still anonymous 23-year-old medical student who, late on Friday night, died of injuries sustained when she was raped and brutalised with an iron bar by six men on a moving bus in Delhi two weeks ago.
In Delhi itself, a city full of temples, mosques and churches, scores gathered at a shrine set up at the bus stop where, tired of waiting for the rare public buses after a trip to see the film Life of Pi, the young woman and her male friend had accepted a lift from the men who would rape her. Whether those in the crowd were mourners, protesters or both was unclear. Under the hastily printed posters reading "You Inspired Us All" and "No to Violence to Women", they too lit their candles. "We are feeling very sad. We are feeling very angry. Now we hope our lives will change," said Archana Balodi, a 24-year-old student.
The six men who are accused of the attack were charged on Saturday with murder, an offence which can be punished by death in India. Even this would be insufficent, said some demonstrators. "Hanging them is not enough. They should be tortured like she was," said Srishdi Kumar, 16. "Then maybe there will be a change. Why not?"
The victim died of organ failure after internal injuries sustained during an assault that lasted for more than an hour. She and her male friend were thrown from the moving bus.
Few now doubt that India, and particularly Delhi, has a problem with rape and sexual violence against women. In recent weeks the issue has changed from being "a privately accepted fact" to a "public cause", said the local Indian Express newspaper. Now many are talking about a turning point.
"In legal terms, it can be [a turning point] if there is the political will. But more broadly it could be a turning point for young women in India. They have seen and sensed the power of their united voice and their resistance, and that is critical," Brinda Karat, a veteran activist and Communist MP, told the Observer.
Many have been angered by the response of the authorities since the incident. While leading figures of the beleaguered ruling Congress party pledged action and spoke of their deep sadness on Saturday, a huge security operation was under way in the capital city to prevent demonstrators reaching parliament, the India Gate war memorial or their own official residences.
Protests last weekend turned violent with water cannon, teargas and baton charges used to disperse demonstrators. But there appeared to be no such threat on Saturday and the massed ranks of police looked like an over-reaction rooted in the paranoia and aloofness of India's political elite.
In a rare televised address, Sonia Gandhi, president of the Congress party, said that she spoke as "a mother and a woman", and called for efforts to counter "shameful social attitudes and mindsets that allow men to rape with such impunity".
Sexual harassment – known locally as "Eve-teasing" – is endemic in India. The belief that women are responsible for sexual assault is widespread. This year a series of rapes in rural areas in the state of Haryana, which is adjacent to Delhi, led to suggestions from politicians and community leaders that much sexual violence was consensual.
Investigations have revealed similar attitudes among the police. Women who report rapes are repeatedly ignored or even harassed themselves.
In the wake of the most recent incident, dozens of other rapes, often by multiple assailants, have been reported by the media across India. More than 24,000 rape cases were registered with the authorities in 2011, a 9% increase on the previous year.
In one incident reported last week, police took 14 days to register a complaint from a 17-year-old in Patiala, in the north-western state of Punjab, who attempted to report a gang rape. She later took her own life. Two officers have been sacked and one suspended.
The government has set up two committees to recommend new measures to combat sexual violence against women. One is likely to be the publication on the internet of a register of sex offenders; others include fast-track courts and a higher proportion of female police officers.
But the events of the past week have also revealed a growing gulf between young Indians and the ageing political class. The prime minister, Manmohan Singh, an 80-year-old former economist, encountered derision when he described the "emotions and energies this incident has generated" as "perfectly understandable reactions from a young India and an India that genuinely desires change".
Sheila Dikshit, the chief minister of Delhi – an otherwise popular figure who said she felt ashamed "not just as [chief minister], but as a citizen of India" – was booed when she tried to visit one of the protests in the city on Saturday . Few among the overwhelmingly youthful protesters had much confidence in their leaders. Many asked why they should trust political parties who in the last five years have fielded candidates for state elections that included 27 charged with rape and scores more under investigation for harassment and assault.
Brinda Karat said some good might yet come out of the tragedy – but at a high cost. "There has been a critical shift," she said. "But how many young lives and how many young women have to be sacrificed for change to happen?"
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