“The
flames ignited by Nirbhaya/Damini will continue to blaze till every
woman
attains justice, equality and respect” Annette
Mascarenhas, President, National Association of Soroptimist
International of India

SI South Kolkata take part in a silent
protest march in memory of Nirbhaya/Damini.

One year ago, a 23
year-old student in New Delhi, India, was attacked by a group of men
while
travelling home on a bus. The young woman was gang-raped and subjected
to an
assault so vicious that she died of her injuries soon afterwards.
Soroptimists in India are taking part in
events this week to remember this terrible crime and its victim, known
by many
as Nirbhaya or Damini, and to call for continued action to end violence
against
women and girls in India.

The attack caused widespread
horror and revulsion across India and the world.“It
has outraged and angered the entire nation, who came out in droves and
stood as
one against this barbaric act”, wrote Annette Mascarenhas,
President
and Councillor of the National Association of Soroptimist
International of
India in a SoroptiVoice blog post.

However,
she also emphasized that this was not an isolated case. “The
Delhi gang rape was ghastly but it is not the only one… There have been
others
before that are equally gruesome and there have been more since. Every
day, our
media wakes us up to countless number of incidents involving women and
girls
including minors.”

In January 2013, Soroptimists around
India took part in demonstrations calling for justice, as well as action
to
change the attitudes that underpin it.

Education to Change
Attitudes

“To stop rape we have to think
about the attitudes that make rape imaginable. I strongly believe, it is
the
mentality of the society that needs to change and change it will." SI
Madurai President Divya Gupta.

“December 16 has
become a point of reference – people have not forgotten”,
says Nisha Ghosh,
Programme Action Co-ordinator for SI Pune Metro East. The Club have
organised a march to mark the
anniversary, and like many other Soroptimist clubs are active in schools
and
with young people to change the attitudes that allow violence against
women and
girls to continue, through a gender sensitization programme (pictured
above).

“We have put together a project where we are
going into schools to talk about ‘Being
Safe’ (primary school), ‘Growing up and Bodily Changes’ (Middle School) and ‘What is Gender?’ (senior schools ). We
have
worked with 3 schools so far and hope to work with many more- but making
inroads and fitting in with school routine is the tough thing. We find
the children are very receptive and
the 16 Dec incident is something they connect with; we even notice their
desire
to think differently, but we are afraid they will ultimately be drowned
in the
patriarchial ambience of their home and society”.

On 25 November, SI
Kodaikanal marked International Day for the Elimination of Violence
Against
Women by raising awareness of violence against women at their local
Sunday
market (pictured above). Six skits explored violence against women and girls, including
domestic
abuse, rape, feticide and dowry-related violence, raising awareness and
encouraged by-standers to discuss and explore issues.

Soroptimist International believes that education and raising awareness is a key part of ending violence against women and girls, in India and around the world. Watch our short film below or read more in the SI Global Impact Report
2012-13.