Rape culture is a part of every society, even America. Many individuals experience the "just world phenomenon," a happening where a person believes that events are just meant to be and those who are victims of a circumstance deserved it in some way. This ties in with rape because many view certain victims as having "asked for it" when they are the victim of a sexual assault, even though the attacker is always to blame for the assault. In societies that are usually captained by male heads, women are often the victims of these injustices. It is a national issue. Protests have begun to take effect though, and in places such as Delhi, Somalia, and Nepal, change is beginning to occur.
On December 16, 2012, a young Indian medical student was brutally raped. A group of men attacked her on a bus and gang raped her for over an hour, even going so far as to using metal poles to penetrate her. She endured internal injuries including the rupturing of her intestines. After they were done, they threw her off the bus and left her to die on a road in New Delhi, one of the busiest cities in India. Violence against women is nothing new in India, though. 1 in 5 women report having either been raped or have experienced an attempted rape, and 57 percent of Indian boys and 53 percent of Indian girls believe that wife-beating is justified. The need for male dominance in what is the called the "cult of masculinity" incites this violent behavior from men and their need to assert their dominance. It isn't about sex, it is about the fierce need to overpower an individual in order to make them inferior. Indian women are no longer accepting these attacks, though. A march called by the city's Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit drew followers as fellow women walked around New Delhi and held a prayer ceremony for the victim. Protesters are now seeking the death penalty for those accused of the crime, and state that the only way to make the streets of New Delhi safe for women is to actually enact punishments towards those who commit the acts.
Change is very good. The fact that the problem is not only being acknowledged but changed is one of the greatest things to happen for women's rights. As cultures begin to grow and society as a whole begins to mature, a change should be seen for those who have little rights. For far too long women have been oppressed by men and have gained a learned helplessness and a feeling that things are meant to be this way, that women are meant to be treated as second class citizens. Men and women are equal though, and the same courtesies and rights that men are able to have should be afforded to women as well. The fact that a country that was led by a patriarchal society has now began to publicly call for change is great, and it has the potential to help bring about change in countries worldwide. Every person should know that as humans, everyone is equal, and once acts such as the one previously mentioned begin to stop, equality will be achieved.
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Wolfe, Lauren. "End culture of rape in 2013." CNN. Cable News Network. 2 January 2013. Web. 2 January 2013.
n.p. "Indian Minister Leads Delhi Rape Protest." Voice of America. Voice of America. 2 January 2013. Web. 2 January 2013.
n.p. "Silent female protest in India capital Delhi remembers gang rape victim." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. 2 January 2013. Web. 2 January 2012.
