Delhi Gang-Rape Victim Dies; India Awash In Grief

On Saturday morning, a 23-year-old Delhi woman died in a Singapore hospital (where she had been airlifted to on Thursday) from grave injuries suffered during a brutal hour-long sexual assault by at least four men on a private bus in Delhi.

The young woman?s ordeal has seemingly inspired a massive amount of self-reflection in India with respect to how women and girls are treated.

Now, the protesters who have vociferously condemned the police and courts of law for their inaction have turned to mourning the passing of the girl most of them never knew.

Press Trust of India reported that massive memorials for the victim were held in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Bangalore and other parts of the vast country. Many were dressed in black and had their mouths covered with tape in a silent protest.

These demonstrations were largely peaceful, unlike last week?s orgies of rage and anguish, marked by violent clashes with teargas-firing police.

Still, this tragic incident ? one of untold hundreds of thousands of sexual assaults that occur in India every year ? may lead to political and social upheavals.

Shabana Azmi, an actress turned activist, vowed: ?We cannot let the anger pass. It will be a greater betrayal. We have to do some soul searching.?

Indeed, six men arrested in connection with the gang-rape have had their criminal charges upgraded to murder, while many women?s rights activists are demanding the death penalty in such cases,

India's Home Affairs minister, Ratanjit Pratap Narain Singh promised swift action against the rapists.

"I can only assure the family [of the victim] that the government will take whatever steps are needed to ensure that her killers get the harshest punishment in the quickest of time," he said.

"The government will work overtime to try and bring about laws and steps that will ensure that no other person, no other citizen of this country, has to go through or undergo the same kind of trauma."

Delhi students plan to hold a vigil at the location in south Delhi where the girl was attacked to call for tougher punishment for sex offenders.

But some parts of the capital are in a security lockdown to prevent the resurgence of violence.

?The government is not even allowing mourning of the death. This is insensitivity. There is complete lock down. You have the metro stations shut. You have a road completely blocked. This is undemocratic,? a protester complained to PTI.

BBC reported that in response to promises from lawmakers that the government will get tough on rapists, one Delhi protester held up a sign which read: "We don't want your condolences! We don't want your fake sentiments! We demand immediate action to strengthen the laws against sexual violence."

Meanwhile, the victim will be flown back to India for a private funeral.

Source: http://www.ibtimes.com/delhi-gang-rape-victim-dies-india-awash-grief-979648

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