Hundreds were expected to attend the rally in New Delhi organised by 19-year-old journalism student Umang Sabarwal (above), who says it is time for Indian women to speak out. -- PHOTO: AP
NEW DELHI - DEMONSTRATORS in India's capital were due to hold the country's first 'Slut Walk' on Sunday to protest at an alarming rise in sexual assault cases and the growing sense of insecurity among women.
Hundreds were expected to attend the rally in New Delhi organised by 19-year-old journalism student Umang Sabarwal, who says it is time for Indian women to speak out.
'Slut Walks', which have become a global phenomenon to protest against sexual violence, see women march dressed in skimpy clothing to challenge the mindset that victims of sexual assault should be blamed for the crimes against them.
'In India, no matter what we wear, even if we are covered head to toe in a sari or a burqa, we get molested and raped,' Ms Sabarwal told AFP ahead of the protest. 'If we are victimised, it is justified by saying we asked for it,' the teenager said.
Last week, a case widely reported in the Indian media illustrated the danger in Delhi where 85 per cent of women fear being harassed, according to a 2010 survey. A group of women were on their way home from a nightclub in a suburb when a gang of wealthy, drunken young men celebrating the purchase of a new SUV started following their taxi and forced it to stop.
A 24-year-old woman in the front seat of the taxi was dragged from the vehicle and kidnapped. Police rescued her several hours later after a car chase, meaning she avoided the fate of numerous other women in the capital who have been forced into vehicles in recent months and repeatedly raped. New Delhi now tops the chart of the most unsafe cities in the country, with 489 reported rape cases in 2010, up from 459 in 2009, according to police statistics. -- AFP
