Hundreds joined candle light vigils to show their solidarity with the victims of the rape incidents in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao and Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua districts.
At supermarket area, nearly 300 people gathered to express solidarity for the 8 year old minor girl from Rasana village of Kathua district in Jammu who was brutally gang raped and murdered. The event, organized by a Facebook group called Dimapur 24/7, saw people from different communities coming together to show their support and seek justice for the victim.
The group with over 20k members had also recently held a poster campaign denouncing violence against women. Speaking during the event, one of the activists said the scene of violence against women was going from bad to worse with cases of rape and assault on women taking place every day. He said even many of those taking part in the vigil did not understand the gravity of the situation. He broke down in the middle of his speech saying it was time for the people to understand the alarming rate of injustice against women.
A lady from among the crowd said women in India were not safe anymore and even children were not spared in this mayhem. She said people must come together to fight against this menace. She went on to state that rapists do not have any religion or identity in the society. She appealed to the people and the government to come out and protect women who were victimised.
Another young lady, a sociology student, who was also part of the vigil, said rape was not the only injustice perpetrated against women. She said even in the context of Nagaland, there was a huge gender disparity. “I believe events like these should be held more often to sensitize people on gender equality,” she added.
Later the admin of the group thanked the commissioner of police, Dimapur for allowing the group to hold the event. Father (Dr) C.P. Anto, in a short speech, lauded Dimapur 24/7 for organizing the noble event. He later concluded the event with a benediction.
SASRD NU: Over 200 people staged a peaceful protest with a candlelight march at Nagaland University SASRD, organized by different student associations and authorities of the university against Kathua and Unnao rape incidents.
Speaking on the occasion, Student’s Union, SASRD Kedirisi Namdaw said people of Nagaland were also very much concerned for the justice of the victims.
Joint secretary, North-East Zone of All India Agricultural Student’s Association, New Delhi, Ashwini Ananda asserted that “there is a religion above all religions, that is the religion of humanity and we should understand it as soon as possible, otherwise humanity is on the verge of extinction and examples are already there” Pro-Vice Chancellor (ic) of SASRD, Prof. M. Aleminla Ao, expressed deep pain and demanded justice for the victims. Short speeches were also delivered by asst professor, department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Dr Pankaj Shah; asst professor, Department of Agronomy, Dr A. P. Singh also supported the move by his presence.