By Sunita Sohrabji<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FREMONT, California \u2014 A group of women, with a few men among them, gathered at the Unity Sculpture at Fremont\u2019s Lake Elizabeth July 27 evening to express solidarity with the women of India, whose vulnerabilities to violence without recourse were exposed after a heinous attack in the northeast state of Manipur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similar demonstrations have been staged around the world by the Indian diaspora. In London, a group of protestors marched to Parliament Square, and engaged in a silent vigil near a statue of Mahatma Gandhi. Justice for All in Canada have planned protests around the country this weekend. And another demonstration will be held here July 30, at 11 am.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen I heard that tribal women had been kidnapped, attacked, and raped, I was shocked, but not surprised. Violence against women has been swept under the rug, not only in India but around the world,\u201d said longtime women\u2019s rights activist Viji Sundaram, who spearheaded the Fremont demonstration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three San Francisco Bay Area anti-domestic violence organizations collaborated to stage the event, including: Maitri, Narika, and Safe Alternatives to Violent Environments. The organization Indian Business and Professional Women, founded by Deepka Lalwani, also participated and got several local politicians on board for the protest. Organizers said the demonstration aimed to be apolitical, and non-partisan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On May 4, two tribal women in Manipur were kidnapped, stripped, and paraded naked through their village. A mob of hundreds of men looked on, cheered, and filmed the attack. Both women were sexually assaulted; the younger woman was gang-raped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though the victims filed complaints with police, no investigation was undertaken. The victims also filed a complaint June 12 with India\u2019s National Commission on Women, which also did not respond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On July 19, a graphic video of the attack was released, shocking India and the diaspora. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke a day later, calling the atrocity shameful. \u201cWhat has happened to the daughters of Manipur can never be forgiven. The guilty will not be spared,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The National Commission on Women chief Rekha Sharma finally met with the victims July 26. Four suspects were arrested last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy did it take Modi 78 days to respond?\u201d queried Sundaram \u2014 co-founder of the anti-domestic violence organization Narika \u2014 at the rally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHumanity has been severely torn to pieces in the state of Manipur,\u201d said Papiha Nandy, executive director of the organization Lead in Heels. \u201cIt is appalling to see men cheering while this attack was happening.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWomen all over the world are violated, but lack avenues for recourse,\u201d said Geetha Krishnamurthy, president of Maitri\u2019s board of directors. \u201cPeople need to stop using women\u2019s bodies as political battlefields. Our bodies are not your battlegrounds. You cannot violate a woman to punish someone else,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The brutal attack came amid months-long clashes between warring tribal factions, the Meiteis, who are Hindus, and the Kukis, who are mostly Christian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cViolence against women in India and around the world has been non-stop. This incident was exposed, but of course there are thousands more where women have had to live with the brutality and shame in silence,\u201d said Shailaja Dixit, executive director of Narika. She called for a moment of silence in which participants at the demonstration could process their grief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dixit, who grew up in New Delhi, said that sexual assault was commonplace for Indian women, who face groping on public transportation, also known as eve teasing. \u201cWe must think about how to create a society more equitable for the women of Manipur, and women around the world,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chao Lee, development manager at SAVE, is a survivor of domestic violence. \u201cIt breaks my heart to see women being violated in this very public way,\u201d she said through tears. \u201cI am angry. I am enraged,\u201d she said, as her young daughter clung to her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Martha Krieger is the district representative for California state Senator Aisha Wahab, the first South Asian American woman in the California state Legislature. She spoke about SB 464, the Sexual Assault Survivor\u2019s Bill of Rights, spearheaded by Wahab, which would add protections for victims of violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe currently put victims through a really tough process after their assault. This bill would get someone in with them right away and ensure that their case is processed in a timely manner,\u201d said Krieger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fremont city councilman Raj Salwan did not attend the event in person, but sent a message of solidarity, which was read out by Lalwani. \u201cThe women of Manipur, like women everywhere, deserve to live in a society that respects their dignity, protects their rights, and upholds their fundamental freedoms. Yet, they were subjected to an appalling display of violence and humiliation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is a stark reminder that despite the progress we have made as a society, there is still much work to be done. We must ensure that the survivors of this horrific incident receive justice and support,\u201d said Salwan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n