Indian protestors hold candles during a rally in New Delhi on December 29, 2012, after the death of a gang rape student from the Indian capital. Indian leaders appealled for calm fearing fresh outbursts of protests after the death of a gang-rape student victim. New Delhi’s top police officer and chief minister have urged people to mourn the death of a gang-rape victim in a peaceful manner as large parts of the city-centre were sealed off. The calls for calm came after an Indian woman who was gang-raped on a New Delhi bus died in a Singapore hospital after suffering severe organ failure.
Indians are outraged and demanding change after the victim of a gang rape in Delhi died as a result of the brutal crime.
From the capital itself to cities and towns around the country, thousands of protesters have taken to the streets to protest the culture and laws that allowed such a crime to occur.
“The first day I came here, it was all about 'How can something like this happen in my city?' How can a bus roam around for more than an hour and no one notice that [a gang rape is being committed on board],” 26-year-old protester Pallavi told GlobalPost correspondent Jason Overdorf.
“But as the movement proceeded, I realized it is more about creating awareness amongst people of how there should be equality between the genders, first of all. And apart from that, we have to make sure that at every house there is no kind of inequality or mistreatment. We have to educate our sons, our brothers, and all the males in our families, to respect every woman outside and if they see anyone mistreating any woman outside, they should stand for her."
Indeed.
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