Photo Essay: Hundreds hold vigil for sexually assaulted elderly nun in India
Across various cities, Indian Christians and supporters held a vigil for 71 year-old nun as government condemned act as “horrific.”
On Monday, March 16, hundreds of Indian Christians and supporters held a peaceful vigil in cities across India in support of a 71 year-old nun who was brutally gang-raped at the weekend.
The nun, who has not been publicly named, was asleep when burglars forced their way into the Convent of Jesus and Mary in the city Ranaghat in West Bengal. Two other nuns and a security guard were tied to a chair while the elderly nun was taken to another room an assaulted, according to reports. Her injuries were so heinous that she was transported to a nearby hospital for surgery. She is now recovering. The assailants stole money, a laptop, a mobile phone and a camera. They also vandalized the chapel.
Eight men have been apprehended for the crimes.
The Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, called the act “horrific” and said: “The government will take swift, strongest possible action against the culprits.”
Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kolkata, Thomas D’Souza, said: “Christians in Bengal are deeply anguished by the shameful act of violence on an elderly and ailing religious sister at Ranaghat. We would like to register our horror and shock at this barbaric act which has occurred in our tolerant and inclusive state of West Bengal — the land of Mother Teresa and Swami Vivekananda.”
The power of a sign held by one man in solidarity with women:
“I’m a daughter, I’m a wife and I’m a sister. These are my normal roles in life. But when there is an injustice and violence, then I am the personification of strength and power.”
The news of the rape comes just days after India’s Parliament controversially banned the documentary India’s Daughter, based on the 2012 fatal rape of a 23-year-old female student who was assaulted by six men on a bus while travelling home after a movie. In the documentary, one of the perpetrators blames the victim and suggests she should not have fought back.
Demonstrators hope to create awareness of the increase in attacks on Christians — a minority within the country — to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as well as awareness of the vicious cycle of victim-blaming in rape cases throughout the country.
