6 charged with murder in gang rape of Indian woman

By Tanvi Sharma and Mark Magnier























"People are losing faith in the Parliament, police reforms are pending for the past 20 years, nothing has been done," said Dipankar Gupta, a sociologist and board member of the Dehradun-based Doon School. "This is not the isolated case where law has failed us. This is a generic and widespread disease."

Singh on Thursday called for mind-set shifts as women in India's rapidly changing society take a greater role in the workforce and walk or drive alone at night.

"Women and girls represent half the population and our society hasn't been fair to this half," the prime minister told a government council.

But the problems are deep-seated, India's legal system is notoriously creaky and enforcement is often lax. Families are frequently wary of reporting rapes, fearful of being asked for bribes to file a case or of being publicly humiliated.

Nationwide, the rape conviction rate is just 25%, and in rural communities where the stigma over "tainted goods" is greatest, women are sometimes pressured into marrying their attackers.

"There has been a failure by all parties in this case," said Shiv Visvanathan, a sociology professor at Sonipat's O.P. Jindal Global University. "People are shaken."

A survey by the Thomson Reuters Foundation in June placed India among the worst places to be a woman globally, given high rates of infanticide, child marriage and economic and sexual slavery.

"The police know this will eventually die down, they're just waiting," said Vinay Singh, 26, an advertising copywriter, wearing a beard and jeans as he protested Saturday at Jantar Mantar. "But we're all to blame.

"Can India reform? Maybe, but lots and lots need to be done."



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