Young girls, teenagers, and women in parts of India, especially in New Delhi must learn at a very young age that they must protect themselves at all times. Writer Sonia Faleiro lived in New Delhi for twenty-four years and says sexual harassment was an everyday norm, and each day in the city that harassment crosses the line into rape. She says she she would never travel in public alone, would always cross her arms over her chest, avoid eye contact, never smile, and wear cloths two sizes too big to avoid showing her figure in any way.
The reason Faleiro felt it necessary to take these precautions was made clear by the December 16 gang rape of another 23 year old woman, a woman who's name is still unknown. That woman was returning home with a male friend after seeing a movie. The two got on a bus they thought was public transit, but was actually a ruse set up by a group of 6 men. The men inside the bus brutally beat the male then raped the 23 year old woman; they then threw both of them out of the bus, leaving them to die. The woman died 13 days after the attack.
The worst part of this story is that it is a common tale. In a country in which the males outnumber the females by 15 million, rape has become an acceptable practice in certain parts of the country. Last year over 600 rapes were reported in New Delhi, only 1 resulted in a conviction. A woman who is raped also faces the reality of now being considered impure, and thus unworthy of marriage; the result is often the police and the girl's family advising she marry her rapist.