People light candles in Surrey for rape victim
Posted January 6, 2013 10:01 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
SURREY (NEWS1130) – Dozens of people gathered at a vigil in Surrey Sunday to honour the woman who was gang raped in India.
The mood was sombre at Bear Creek Park as speakers shared stories with the aim to bring an end to violence against women.
Mothers clung to their daughters while holding lit candles. They held a moment of silence for the 23-year-old victim.
The crowd was reminded that a woman in India is raped every 20 minutes.
“I’m feeling the pain for the woman. I don’t think justice has been done. To get justice in India or anywhere, it’s very hard, especially when it comes to rape and domestic violence. It’s been a long fight. Hopefully one day with all these protests that we’re having all around, we can get justice one day,” says a woman named Suki.
Another mourner named Liz found it hard to hold back her tears. She’s not a member of the South Asian community but feels strongly about the issue.
“I’m here just as a mother and as woman. It’s just horrible and I just want to support these women, and what they’re standing for.”
Rakhi is sad but also angry. She grew up in Delhi where the tragedy happened and is sickened.
“It just broke my heart. I couldn’t sleep ever since I heard that brutal attack on that girl. I’ve been having sleeple
ss nights. There’s so much anger. It’s just so painful.”
She says there needs to be a shift in cultural values. She wants men to show more respect to women and work with them to end violence.
Some men were also compelled to come out to the park. Tariq showed up because he hopes a violent attack doesn’t happen to anyone close to him.
“I respect my mother, my wife, my daughters and granddaughters….we must educate our future generations and make them aware,” he says.
The victim, a med student, and her boyfriend were attacked while on a bus near Delhi. She died in a Singapore hospital. Five men have been charged.
