INDIA: Delhi bus rape victim makes slow recovery amid rising protests and calls for action
Record ID:
1375135
INDIA: Delhi bus rape victim makes slow recovery amid rising protests and calls for action
- Title: INDIA: Delhi bus rape victim makes slow recovery amid rising protests and calls for action
- Date: 20th December 2012
- Summary: NEW DELHI, INDIA (DECEMBER 20, 2012) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI-NO ACCESS BBC) EXTERIOR OF SAFDARJUNG HOSPITAL BOARD READING 'V.M.M.C AND SAFDARJUNG HOSPITAL' MEDICAL SUPERINTENDENT AT DELHI'S SAFDARJUNG HOSPITAL, DR. B. D. ATHANI, ARRIVING WITH HIS COLLEAGUES FOR A NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) MEDICAL SUPERINTENDENT AT DELHI'S SAFDARJUNG HOSPITAL, DR. B. D. ATHANI, SAYING: "She underwent an elective exploratory laparotomy yesterday, and she withstood the operation fairly well. The night was uneventful and in the morning, she continued to be in a stable condition. Her vital parameters, like blood pressure, respiratory rate, urine output are within acceptable limits. She is making attempts to breathe on her own." CHAIRPERSON OF THE NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR WOMEN (NCW), MAMTA SHARMA, AT A SEMINAR SHARMA READING OUT FROM A SHEET OF PAPER (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) CHAIRPERSON OF THE NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR WOMEN (NCW), MAMTA SHARMA, SAYING: "Laws must be strict. Simply lighting the buses or removing tinted glasses in cars is not enough. Also, society will have to change the way it thinks." KATHUA, JAMMU AND KASHMIR, INDIA (DECEMBER 20, 2012) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI-NO ACCESS BBC) POLICE OFFICIALS AT THE SITE OF A PROTEST DEMONSTRATORS RAISING SLOGANS DEMONSTRATORS SITTING DEMONSTRATOR WITH A POSTER DEMONSTRATORS RAISING SLOGANS POLICE OFFICIALS WATCHING THE PROTEST TRAFFIC JAM ON HIGHWAY DEMONSTRATORS BLOCKING THE HIGHWAY POSTER READING 'HANG THE RAPISTS' (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) A DEMONSTRATOR, MANJOT KAUR, SAYING: "They are talking about reservation for women. I say that we do not want it. What we want from them is the right to live freely. We must get the respect we deserve, as mothers, sisters and daughters." JAMMU, JAMMU AND KASHMIR, INDIA (DECEMBER 20, 2012) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI-NO ACCESS BBC) DEMONSTRATORS IN A STREET DEMONSTRATORS RAISING SLOGANS POLICE OFFICIALS OBSTRUCTING DEMONSTRATORS A GIRL'S SHOE LYING ON THE ROAD DEMONSTRATORS RAISING SLOGANS AGAINST THE POLICE DEMONSTRATORS RAISING SLOGANS WHILE WALKING DOWN A STREET MORADABAD, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA (DECEMBER 20, 2012) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI-NO ACCESS BBC) DEMONSTRATING STUDENTS WALKING WITH GAGS AROUND THEIR MOUTHS DEMONSTRATORS CARRYING PLACARDS DEMONSTRATORS STAGING A SILENT PROTEST (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) A DEMONSTRATOR, ANJALI CHAUHAN, SAYING: "We are protesting silently against the gang-rape which took place in Delhi, by gagging ourselves. The victim is in a critical state and we pray for her. In order to ensure that such an incident does not take place any where else, we urge the authorities to arrange for the protection of female students. We are going to submit an application to the district magistrate, to ensure that what happened in Delhi does not happen here." DEMONSTRATORS WALKING DOWN THE CITY STREETS
- Embargoed: 4th January 2013 21:44
- Keywords:
- Location: India
- Country: India
- Topics: Crime,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVACVGEM5AVZKFZMY57KX0MMF1OK
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
- Story Text: Doctors attending to the victim of a recent gang-rape in Delhi said on Thursday (December 20) that her condition was critical, though she was recovering slowly, as people continued to take to the streets across India demanding retribution and stricter anti-rape laws.
The gruesome assault on the 23-year-old medical student who was gang-raped in the Indian capital on Sunday night (December 16) and was later thrown out of the vehicle in a semi-naked condition, leaving her with severe genital, abdominal and head injuries, shocked the nation, stoking protests and rallies across India demanding tougher anti rape laws.
The medical superintendent of the Safdarjung Hospital, Dr. B. D. Athani, said that the victim, who is on ventilator support, had undergone a surgery in the night, and that she was attempting to breathe on her own.
"She underwent an elective exploratory laparotomy yesterday, and she withstood the operation fairly well. The night was uneventful and in the morning, she continued to be in a stable condition. Her vital parameters, like blood pressure, respiratory rate, urine output are within acceptable limits. She is making attempts to breathe on her own," Athani said.
The police have arrested a bus driver and three others accused in connection with the gang rape.
Three of the four accused appeared in a local court on Wednesday (December 19), where, reports said, they confessed to the crime.
The court has remanded two of the accused to four-day police custody, while one of them has been sent to judicial custody for 14 days.
With a rising clamour for strict action and more stringent implementation of laws, activists have called for a change in people's mindset.
"Laws must be strict. Simply lighting the buses or removing tinted glasses in cars is not enough. Also, society will have to change the way it thinks," said National Council for Women (NCW) chairperson, Mamta Sharma.
Gender abuses are more common across India's conservative northern belt - which includes Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Bihar - largely due a deep-rooted mindset that women are inferior and must be restricted to the role of homemakers.
Meanwhile, protests continued in various Indian cities as women demanded their right to be able to work and travel safely. In Kathua in north India's Jammu and Kashmir state, women demonstrators blocked traffic on the Jammu Pathankot highway, as they demanded action and a guarantee of their safety.
The agitators said that 'empowerment' moves such as reservation for women were meaningless if women were not immune from sexual assault.
"They are talking about reservation for women. I say that we do not want it. What we want from them is the right to live freely. We must get the respect we deserve, as mothers, sisters an daughters," said a demonstrator, Manjot Kaur.
A similar protest took place in Jammu city of northern Jammu and Kashmir state, where female students participating in a demonstration were stopped by the police, against whom they later raised slogans.
Women in northern Moradabad city protested in a unique manner by gagging themselves and taking out a silent procession. The students said that the dangers of rape were not faced by women in Delhi alone, and that they intended to petition local authorities to make better arrangements for their safety.
"We are protesting silently against the gang-rape which took place in Delhi, by gagging ourselves. The victim is in a critical state and we pray for her. In order to ensure that such an incident does not take place any where else, we urge the authorities to arrange for the protection of female students. We are going to submit an application to the district magistrate, to ensure that what happened in Delhi does not happen here," said a demonstrator, Anjali Chauhan The brutal nature of the Delhi incident has shocked the consciousness of a nation where one woman is raped every 20 minutes, according to the National Crime Records Bureau, which reported 24,206 rapes in 2011 - an almost 10 percent rise over the previous year.
Delhi's rape figures are the highest among Indian cities of comparable size.
Women in India face a multitude of threats, from illegal abortions of female foetuses due to a preference for sons, to the murders of brides by in-laws for want of more dowry, child marriage and human trafficking. - Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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