Vol. 77/No. 2      January 21, 2013

Six men raped and assaulted a 23-year-old student in a bus in New Delhi Dec. 16. She died Dec. 29 from massive internal injuries and brain damage. The assault has led to unprecedented protests against abuse of women and placed the question of violence against women and other questions of women’s rights at the center of politics in India.

As the accused men are going to trial, the public debate is high-pitched and polarized in a country where rapes usually go unreported and are rarely prosecuted.

Amid calls for hanging and castration, a religious leader has said the woman was equally responsible. The government was initially caught flat-footed by the depth of outrage and scope of protest actions, which cops attempted to forcibly suppress. Now as the rulers try to stuff the genie back in the bottle, it’s clear the accused will be nailed to the wall, facing draconian punishment without any pretense of a fair trial.

Calls for hanging and castration have been frequent in protests and statements. On Jan. 5 the woman’s brother told the Indian Express, “We want all the accused hanged, and we will fight for that, till the end.”

Six men have been arrested. The first pretrial hearing on Jan. 7 lasted 30 minutes. Five of the men were presented with 10 charges, among them abduction, gang rape and murder. Public prosecutor Rajiv Mohan is seeking the death penalty. The sixth is a minor and will be tried in juvenile court.

In the packed courtroom scuffles broke out between lawyers who offered to represent the accused and lawyers who called them “beasts” and said they didn’t deserve representation. After this, the presiding judge cleared the room and declared the trial proceedings “in camera,” which means only those directly involved in the case can be present. She also banned printing and publishing details about the proceedings without permission from the court.

Sudha Sundararaman from the All India Women’s Democratic Association said over the phone from New Delhi that “in camera” proceedings in rape cases is normal in India.

The trial will be the first under a “fast-track” court to deal with rapes that authorities established in the aftermath of the assault. The next hearing will take place Jan. 10. Mohan said two of the accused have offered to act as witnesses.

“A lot has been happening,” Sundararaman said. “A religious leader, Asaram Bapu, came out with a statement that if the woman had been more yielding and nicer to the boys they would have let her go, that it was mainly her own fault. This has sparked a polarized debate.”

“Mistake is not committed from one side,” Bapu told followers. The victim “could have held the hand of one of the men and said I consider you as my brother and should have said to the other two ‘Brother I am helpless,’” he said, according to the Indian Express. “She should have taken god’s name and held their hands and feet. Then, the misconduct wouldn’t have happened.”  
 
 
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