Damini’s death brings outrage in India

By Kanika Priyadarshi

Gang raped and severely beaten, a 23-year old Indian woman died at Elizabeth Mount Hospital in Singapore on Saturday December 29, 2012. CNN reports that authorities have not released her name to the press, but protesters call her “Damini,” which means lightning in Hindi. The name was derived from a 1993 Bollywood film where the main female character fights for a housemaid, who was a victim of rape.

According to CNN, on December 16th, Damini and her male companion were returning after watching a late night movie in New Delhi and decided to take a ride from a bus driver and his friends. The attacker pretended to be the bus driver and claimed that he was going in the same direction as the couple was. The attackers asked questions, sneered sexual remarks that eventually turned into a violent fight. The attackers raped Damini and stripped the couple of thier possessions and clothing and threw the couple to the side of the road.

“She had suffered from severe organ failure following serious injuries to her body and brain,” Dr. Kevin Loh at Elizabeth Mount Hospital said in a CNN interview. “She was courageous in fighting for her life for so long against the odds, but the trauma to her body was too severe for her to overcome.”

CNN reports that her death stirred sadness in social media, as well as calls for severe and harsh punishments for the rapists and protests to change how women are disrespectfully treated in society.

PC: nytimes.com

A candlelight vigil is held in honor of “Damini”