New York: Women-rights groups hold rally against rapes in India
What's the story
Several women's rights and advocacy groups have joined hands to hold a rally in New York protesting against the rapes of young girls in Kathua, Unnao and Surat towns, expressing outrage at the horrific incidents and demanding swift justice.
The "United For Justice Rally: Against the Rapes in India" was organized by Sadhana: Coalition of Progressive Hindus.
Here are more details.
The rally
Rally highlights horrors faced by South Asian women every day
The rally was organized near a famed statue of Mahatma Gandhi in city's popular Union Square Park in New York. The rally highlighted the "horrors faced by South Asian women every day".
Sunita Viswanath, board member of Sadhana rally said this was a beginning rather than an end toward calling for action against the horrific rapes and murders and to demand justice.
Fundraising
Organizers hoped to raise about $10,000 for rape victims' families
Viswanath said the organizers of the rally hoped to raise about $10,000 that would go toward the families of the three rape victims in Unnao, Kathua, and Surat.
Protests carried placards that read "Justice for our Girls", "Silence is Compliance", messages demanding marital rape be made a crime, calling for children to be educated about sex and abuse, changing the attitude toward women.
Epidemic
Rapes and crimes against women are epidemic
Sakhi for South Asian Women's Kavita Mehra called the rapes and crimes against women an "epidemic".
"We are sick and tired of what we have to go through for equity and justice. What we need is justice every single day and what we are not getting is justice every single day. It's our time to resist and our time to fight back," Kavita said.
The culprits
Do not protect prosecutors for political gains
Speakers called on the government to punish the prosecutors and "not protect them for political gains".
Daisy Khan of Women's Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality said she too hails from Kashmir and is heartbroken over the rape-and-murder case of Kathua.
"It is heartbreaking that religions are being used as weapons to incite fear and hatred instead of connecting people to God," she said.