FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013 file photo, Indian women carry placards as they march to mourn the death of a gang rape victim in New Delhi, India. For decades, women have had little choice but to walk away when groped in a crowded bus or train, or to simply cringe as someone tosses an obscene comment their way. Even if they haven't experienced explicit sexual abuse themselves, they live with the fear that it could happen to them or a loved one. The gang rape and beating of a 23-year-old university student on a moving bus in India's capital has taken sexual violence - a subject long hidden in the shadows of Indian society - and thrust it into the light. (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin, File)
Indian women hope brutal rape will spark change
FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013 file photo, Indian women carry placards as they march to mourn the death of a gang rape victim in New Delhi, India. For decades, women have had little choice but to walk away when groped in a crowded bus or train, or to simply cringe as someone tosses an obscene comment their way. Even if they haven't experienced explicit sexual abuse themselves, they live with the fear that it could happen to them or a loved one. The gang rape and beating of a 23-year-old university student on a moving bus in India's capital has taken sexual violence - a subject long hidden in the shadows of Indian society - and thrust it into the light. (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin, File)
By MUNEEZA NAQVI
Associated Press /
January 7, 2013
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The public outpouring of anger and support has made many women across India feel like their fears and concerns are finally being heard.
Ranjana Kumari, director of the Center for Social Research and a longtime women’s rights activist, said the fact that boys and men had joined the protests ‘‘gives us hope.’’
‘‘Then it becomes everyone’s issue, and not just a women’s issue,’’ she said.
But no one imagines that change will be quick.
‘‘The process is gradual,’’ Kumari said. ‘‘Extremely patriarchal societies don’t change in short bursts. But this movement will certainly not go to waste.’’
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Associated Press writers Biswajeet Banerjee in Lucknow, Aijaz Rahi in Bangalore, Indrajit Singh in Patna, Wasbir Hussain in Gauhati and Rajesh Kumar Singh in Allahabad contributed to this report.
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