India. A country with a population of more than 1.3 billion people, of which 43% are women. Recent stories that have saturated the news involving gang rapes and sexual assault have alarmed communities worldwide. Official statistics highlight that one rape is reported every 20 minutes. The National Crime Records Bureau state that rape crimes in India has increased tenfold in the last 40 years. 40,000 rape cases were reported in 2016 alone.
In India’s Jammu and Kashmir state, the harrowing rape and murder of an eight-year-old Muslim girl has sparked outrage. A young innocent girl called Asifa Bano, became trapped in a despicable plan and used as a threat to her Muslim nomad community of the Kathua district. Eight men drugged, strangled and stoned the girl before sexually assaulting her in order to force Muslim nomads to flee their town. She was held captive in a hindu temple whist this happened.
In the last month, a number of abhorrent child rape cases has left a stubborn stain on India.
In India’s Jammu and Kashmir state, the harrowing rape and murder of an eight-year-old Muslim girl has sparked outrage. A young innocent girl called Asifa Bano, became trapped in a despicable plan and used as a threat to her Muslim nomad community of the Kathua district. Eight men drugged, strangled and stoned the girl before sexually assaulting her in order to force Muslim nomads to flee their town. She was held captive in a hindu temple whist this happened.
This was a calculated and heinous plan. The alleged ringleader of the gang, Sanji Ram was the caretaker for the temple where they murdered the young girl.
In an open letter 50 former bureaucratics, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that “in post-Independence India, this is our darkest hour.”
In the remote Hindu village where Asifa lived, the local’s mood is in stark contrast to the outrage the rest of the world has shown. They have marched in support of the eight men accused. It was heard that the villagers complained this was all a massive scam, and that the men on trial were being framed. The mindset these locals have is not unheard of, it is chilling to think so many of these rapes may be going on in other villages with a Hindu vs. Muslim mentality that we do not even hear of.
“This is all a big conspiracy to demoralise the Hindus.” said one villager, Bhagmal Khajuri.
Sexual assault and rape crimes in India have been rising over the past decade. The saddening high profile story of the gang rape and murder of a girl on a Delhi bus in 2012 was yet another look into the gritty underbelly of India. She was returning home with her friend after going to the cinema. This case led to worldwide mass protests and condemnation.
The latest incident occurred on 5 May when a 16-year-old girl from Jharkhand was burnt alive. The reason? She was raped by two men near the village of Raja Kendua after being abducted from her own home. The parents went to the elders of the village after she was raped to gain help to punish the rapists, however in turn they became angry and beat the girl’s parents before setting her on fire.
A deeper look into this spiraling crisis may reveal an extremely deep-set systematic issue. Lack of education on these matters for men seems to be the case. There is a huge stigma attached to rape, where the girl is blamed and deemed impure if it happens to her.
In recent changes following a number of high-profile cases, the Indian government have decided to introduce the death penalty for child rapists. However much more needs to be done before India can stop being known as the rape capital of the world.
S.K.