海角大神

The Indian government鈥檚 crackdown on the anti-rape protests that have continued for nearly two weeks in New Delhi has only aggravated public anger and concern about women鈥檚 safety.聽

The protests were sparked by the gang rape and brutal assault of a 23-year-old student on a bus in the elite South Delhi district on Dec. 16.聽

As the girl battles for her life in a Singapore hospital, Indians are debating how to make the country safer for women. Ten days after the incident, it dominates newspaper headlines and op-ed pages, pushing to the margins stories like the retirement of cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, the popular Indian sportsperson, highlighting just how much the case has affected people.

Sexual harassment is rampant in India, and the public has been largely apathetic to women鈥檚 plight, but many are hoping the attack could be a turning point in the way India treats women.

Calls for capital punishment, including the chemical castration of rapists, have died down, with various women鈥檚 groups decrying them. Given that in 94 percent of rape cases the rapist is known to the victim, Nilanjana S. Roy, writing in The Hindu newspaper she wonders if the protestors would be okay with death penalty if it were their father, uncle, neighbors, or even if it meant convicting Indian security forces in conflict zones. 聽

The Monitor reported that India is considering a fast-track court process to expedite rape cases and step up punishment for sexual violence on the heels of the bus rape incident.聽

Beyond the law, what needs to happen, writes Shilpa Phadke, author of a book on women鈥檚 safety in Mumbai, has to do with how Indians use their streets: 鈥淲e are safer when there are more women (and more men) on the streets. When shops are open, when restaurants are open, when there are hawkers and yes, even sex workers on the street, the street is a safer space for us all.鈥�

The outrage that this case has spurred might finally bring about a cultural change in India, Stephanie Nolen of The Globe and Mail suggests in a report:聽

And that should start with using sexual education in schools as a means to counter systemic patriarchal attitudes, writes Ketaki Chowkhani in Kafila, a collaborative blog that I work with.

That need for an emphasis on social change rather than law enforcement was also highlighted by Praveen Swami in The Hindu newspaper. India could learn a lot from the United States, he writes, where the incidence of rapes have fallen:

Meanwhile, the crackdown on the protests in Delhi has drawn sharp reactions and much anger across the Internet. On Facebook, graphic designer Sangeeta Das narrated her experience of the protests on Dec. 23, republished on the Kafila blog:

Meanwhile, the media have drawn the government鈥檚 ire. On Sunday, the same day one journalist was killed聽in Manipur when police opened fire on protestors, the government issued an advisory to news channels to show 鈥渕aturity and responsibility鈥� in their coverage of protests: