A Danish woman was raped in New Delhi; two of her suspected attackers were arrested. According to Bloomberg, this incident further exposes the dangers for women in India, home to more than a billion people and the second most populous nation.
After 15 men were detained and questioned, two were arrested. The tourist was a 51 year old woman; she commented that she was raped at knife-point in the early evening “in a neighborhood popular with backpackers and budget tourists.”
Police Spokesman Rajan Bhagat noted that “additional arrests may follow today.”As rape cases in india are 57 percent higher than they were in the last decade, there are very clear concerns for female tourists as they consider traveling to india. After the gang rape and death of the medical student on the bus- as she was brutally gang raped, tourism to india “slowed by 4.1 percent.”
At the centre for Social Research, Ranjana Kumari commented, “the message being sent to the world is that if you are a woman, you shouldn’t come to India alone.”
A french female tourist heard the news, and basically packed up to turn around home. “A woman is raped every 21 minutes,” according to the National Crime Records Burea data, from 2012. Resultingly, female tourism underwent a 35 percent decrease.
To escape gang rape, one woman jumped from a window. Another woman was raped on a train, Another woman was beaten and robbed and kidnapped and raped. Rape after rape cases happen in this place- why do tourists- female tourists, continue to travel there knowing the risks?
Locals are also complaining about rampant crime, corruption, and the lack of safety. Native rickshaw driver Prince Jeswal, earning 800 rupees a day ($13) says that he doesn’t let his children out of the house after 6pm. Speaking of New Delhi, he says, “The city has become every man fighting for himself.”
Summary:
A Danish tourist was raped in New Delhi. Two suspects were arrested, but the gang was still at large. Over and over again we hear of more rape cases in India.
Image Credit: Bloomberg