Trigger Warning
I woke up to the news that there was another gang-rape on a bus in India this weekend. A 29-year-old woman boarded a bus in the Gurdaspur district in Punjab. The bus driver and his helper waited until she was the only one left on the bus and then drove to a place where five other men joined them and they all violated and hurt her throughout the night.
“”They threatened me with a sharp edged weapon and did wrong things with me,” the victim told CNN‘s sister station, CNN-IBN. “They kept me confined all through the night and forced me to do what they want.”
The next day, the suspects dropped her off at her village, where she informed her family and alerted police, according to authorities.”
The police caught six of the seven men.
While it was amazing to see the tens of thousands of people march to protest the Delhi gang rape in December and it was encouraging to hear about all of the changes the police and government want to make to address gender violence, this incident is a clear reminder that these efforts are not enough. There must be a gender revolution, an end to women’s second-class citizenship, and also long-term, multilayer efforts to end gender violence.
I am sad. I am frustrated. I am outraged. How many more women must endure such violence, hate, and pain before this revolution happens?
My heart goes out to the 29-year-old woman. May she recover, heal, and still go on to live a happy life.
