The firm patriarchal society in India has contributed to their major issue of sexual assault and violence towards women. This past year and especially this week, a number of horrific rape cases have received international attention for their brutality. In the past seven days, a six year old girl, twenty five year old woman, twenty seven year old woman, and a forty year old woman were raped and most were murdered. Two of the four rapings were gang rapes, involving four and twelve men, and three of the four victims died. These were just the sexually assaults that made the news, around 100 sexual assaults are reported to India’s police every day. An attack on a 23 year old rape survivor also occurred this week.
On December 12th, 2018, a young woman got gang-raped at gun point by two men. The next day, she reports the crime to the local police but a first information report (F.I.R) is not registered. It took twelve weeks for the F.I.R to be registered and the process of getting justice to begin. Unfortunately, one rapist was free due to avoiding arrest and the other received bail on November 25th.
Thursday, December 5th, the rape survivor was attacked by five men, two of which were her rapists, on the way to meet her lawyer. She was initially beaten with sticks before being stabbed multiple times then covered in Petrol and set on fire. While on fire, she screamed for help and an eyewitness called 112 (our 911). She was able to identify all five attackers, four of which were her rapists and their fathers. With her burns cover 90% of her body and fragile condition, a highly developed hospital is necessary to treat her. She first arrived at a nearby health facility center before being taken to Unnao district hospital, then to a government hospital, rushed to Civil Hospital, and finally, airlifted to Safdarjung Hospital. While she is being treated for her injuries, a F.I.R report has already made a case on the men.
Gang rapes, murders, and physical violence are not new to India, but it is still an issue that hasn’t been fixed. Hopefully, this week is a huge wake up call for India and will trigger greater action by the law enforcement and more severe punishment for the abusers. As the women’s protection movement grows and the world keeps taps on the brutality in India, the push will continue for these reforms if this week’s tragedies are ignored by India’s government.