Monday, December 31, 2012

If you think bicyclists are harassed.....try this Indian woman's story

"...That woman, a 23-year-old physiotherapy student, died Saturday from internal injuries inflicted with a metal rod during the rape, which took place on a bus two weeks ago.."

I don't know what convinces people to behave so barbarically. The world has to change, and change for the better. Starting right now, on 1 January, 2013. Let this be a better year than the last one.

3 comments:

Ian Brett Cooper said...

Although the degree of harassment varies widely from case to case, the roots of harassment are always the same: ignorance, fear of the 'outgroup' and a resulting unwillingness of society or its guardians (the police) to take the problem seriously.

These issues combined to kill the Indian student last week, and they are what we cyclists face too - and the results for us can be just as frightening, just as deadly and just as frustrating, when road rage rules the road, when it leads to murder and when police and the courts treat it as an unavoidable accident - as so often happens.

Steve A said...

Unfortunately, I agree with Ian on this one. It isn't about the victim or his/her real or imagined offenses, nor about the weapons...

Khal said...

Agree, Ian. The similarities abound, although rape and chauvinism in India makes what I face as a cyclist in Los Alamos pale into insignificance.

Unfortunately, it is these ferocious incidents, whether a road rage leading to a death or severe injury (i.e., the Mandeville Canyon incident and others like it) or this woman's story that wake us up to how badly the status quo needs to change.

My wife's family is from Uttar Pradesh and actually, she has a lot of family still living there. She often told me that the status of women in India was less than wonderful. No kidding.