Monday, September 30, 2013

A Village in Muzaffarnagar Recounts Rapes and Murder


http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/30/a-village-in-muzaffarnagar-recounts-rapes-and-murder/?_r=0

About three weeks ago, deadly sectarian violence broke out in the Muzaffarnagar, a district of the northern Indian state of Uttar. Currently, cases of sexual violence against women which happened during the rioting are starting to surface. The article states that “Two hundred F.I.R.s have been filed and 800 people have been arrested, mostly on charges of murder, arson and loot.” The riots have brought much crime to these areas, and sexually violent and abusive attacks on women are one of the primary examples of this. 49 people have died and 42,000 have been displaced since Sept.7, when the riots began. This article focuses one a man who was displaced, Mr. Yamin. Yamin went to join his children in a refugee camp in Kandhla in a effort to seek haven, however his wife refused to accompany him, and she stayed behind. During her vulnerable state, group of men armed with guns, sickles and swords had surrounded Mr. Yamin’s house. Although she made efforts to escape, the men raped Mrs. Yamin and then proceeded to bur her alive. Although rape is a very prevalent issue, victims and their families are afraid to report sexual violence during the riots due to the social affects attached to rape in rural India. Mrs. Yamin was only one case out of many, but the prevalent injustices are exemplified.

1)   How does the economic and social standard of rural India affect the justice of women and families?
2)   How does Mrs. Yamin’s bravery and refusal to go to a refugee camp show courage similar to Gandhi's?

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