Indian gang-rape victim dies
Indians holding a candlelight vigil Wednesday as the victim of a brutal gang rape in New Delhi continued to deteriorate. She died at a Singapore hospital early Saturday. (Saurabh Das / Associated Press / December 28, 2012)

By Carol J. Williams
December 28, 2012, 3:09 p.m.


The 23-year-old Indian medical student who was gang-raped and beaten on a New Delhi bus two weeks ago died of organ failure at a Singapore hospital early Saturday, Singapore's Strait Times newspaper reported online.
The brutal assault on the woman triggered massive protests in the Indian capital and demands for harsher punishment of those who commit violence against women.
Six men have been arrested in the Dec. 16 attack that occurred after the woman, who has not been named, boarded what she thought was a public commuter bus. The driver and five other men on a joy ride gang-raped the woman and beat and stripped her and her companion before throwing them from the vehicle, police reported.
The woman was transported by the Indian government to the critical-care Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore on Thursday, accompanied by her parents and siblings, after undergoing three abdominal operations in New Delhi that failed to improve her condition.
India's Hindustan Times quoted Kelvin Loh, chief executive of the Singapore hospital, as saying the woman had suffered cardiac arrest before being transferred to his facility, where a team of specialists worked to stop the severe organ failure that began late Friday. She died at 4:45 a.m. Saturday local time, the hospital said in a statement.
The assault provoked thousands of New Delhi residents to throng the presidential palace last weekend, chanting "We want justice!" and "Hang them now," culminating a six-day outpouring of anger at authorities for doing too little to deter assaults on women in the Indian capital.

My Personal Rant
Any sane and morally sound individual reading this would be emotionally charged, if not appalling disgusted.
Yet we can triumphantly claim that we are a civilised global community while we have to continue enduring these despicable acts against women all over the world.
It is not just in India. It happens in every country where women reside. In every country, we read about incidences and cases of similar horror. Worse, some are even done to children as young as 6 or 7. Can you just imagine that?
Year in and year out, we get more depressed reading and watching the news than anything else. No matter how hopeful one could get, all it takes is a sad story to shatter that bubble of joy. Because it is a true story and it really happened to some poor unfortunate soul out there. Then we would huddle in our false sense of security that it won't happen to us. Praying fervently that it won't happen to us at all. Yet, what is the absolute guarantee that we have? 
The right to bear arms? Hire more security guards? Install a superior alarm system?
As we read through the list, we'd know that nothing can possibly ensure our safety.
The common denominator is the individuals involved in the whole equation.
Those who actually own the guns are men.
The security guards are predominantly male.
And even the people who install our superior alarm systems are also men. Guess what, they also have access to our security codes and can easily by-pass into our security system if they wanted to.
So, in the end, who can we really count on?
Who will really stand up and protect the fairer sex, or anyone who needs help, for that matter?
To add salt to our injured dignity,  we have to stomach those thoughtless remarks about how some women are just asking for it by going out late at nights into places which she should not, and it is really her fault by wearing any attire that shows too much flesh. The best of them is the idiotic comment about how a woman's flirtatious behaviour invites sexual assaults!
These are just some of the illogical and stupid statements that we, as the female gender, have to sit there and listen to whenever something bad happens. Oh yes, it is always instigated and provoked by the women in question. 
What utter bullshit!
I'll tell you what is the truth. It is simple.
1) It is the FAILURE of our collective education system on a worldwide scale. Academic values that have fallen into shameful pits whereby every young mind is not learned in any moral code of conduct in every sense of the word. You can forget about any decent respect for women to be cultivated at schools from DAY ONE!
2) The horrific misunderstanding between what is sex, porn and real intimacy. Anything sexual that is done against the consent or will of any human being is not allowed, and a stronger punishment must ensue. The sentence must fit the deplorable act committed. Nothing less. How else would we successfully strike fear into every heart and minds of rapist-wanna-be? What would motivate them to think twice?
Given the right opportunity and circumstances, what would truly make any man remain noble and honourable? What would really stop him from being the hateful beast, especially when he is in a pack of other wolves waiting for the easy kill?
It says a great deal about the state of the male's psyche, does it not?
3) A woman and child should be able to move about and go anywhere without being harassed in any way or form. The fact that to this day no woman and child can do this speaks volumes about the reality of our world. We have not evolved in the real sense. We have only created more innovated ways to torment and entrap helpless women and children. 
FINALLY...to all the men out there -
It is NOT the high mighty position of power and wealth that a man holds which defines him. All these things do not make him great or successful in the real sense. How a man treats a woman and child is the true reflection of his greatness - as an individual, and as a decent human being. 

 There is no dignity in watching other men destroy a woman's honour.
There is no honour in slapping the hands of those culprits when women continue to perish as victims.
All that remains is the disintegration of your masculinity because you've allowed this shameful crimes to flourish to this day.
So many lives have been lost as it is.
So much innocence robbed and abused.
How much blood shed will it take to wake you up?

 Are our tears and collective loss not enough? 

 I would like you to take a moment and imagine - imagine that you are the above Indian gang-rape victim. Just close your eyes and imagine her going through every second of the gruesome moment. The tearing of her clothes, the scraping of her skin, her muffled screams and yet no one cared.

 Imagine...being shoved, pushed and groped violently by several pairs of hands.

 There is no tenderness here. No signs of love or care. Only hateful lust.

After they have taken their turns in sexually assaulting you in the most demeaning way, they proceed to thrust objects into you...leaving you to only die a slow death.

 Can you visualize that kind of pain and suffering being forced on a human being?

 How can you ever imagine that it is permissible for anyone to go through?
As a brother, father, husband and grandfather - how can you look at yourselves in the mirror, full knowing that your very kind are out there attacking innocent women and children?
How long must we continue to tolerate such atrocious behaviour? When will JUSTICE raise its stakes and pass a much harsher law on all violent acts against women and children? When will every man seriously stand up and protect their women-folk?  
Do we wait until it happens to our own children, sisters, wives, mothers or ourselves ONLY THEN we would begin to stir into action?
Something MUST BE DONE...if NOT NOW, WHEN?
All we women are really guilty of is wanting romance and the love of a decent man.

 We would gladly give our hearts to any man who would genuinely love us in return.

 Which woman does not hope for a happy ever after?

 It is every woman's secret dream to be married to the person she loves.

 Is she silly to feel so much and so strongly? Should she be faulted?

 You may laugh at how emotional we get, but it is precisely our emotions which sets us apart from you.

 Without our emotional capacity, we would be no different than a cold and distant robot. Or Rubber Doll, for that matter!

 Would any man be content with that?

 What makes us beautiful are the very things which we need dire protection. Our vulnerability, softness, our gentle caress and tenderness stem from the heart of our femininity. To rob us of all these, would be a death in itself.

 Please understand...

 No woman becomes cold and calculating for no apparent reason. She does not just wake up one day and decides to become a bitch just to regain equality in this world.

 It is a very painful journey that she has had to brave through in order to become stronger and numb herself from despair.

 A series of very unfortunate and deeply disappointing circumstances have shredded her along the way for her to become "hard".

 Make no mistake, when a man fails a woman in whatever way or form, she then has no choice but to pick up the pieces of her remains and learn to stand on her own. When the men fail to speak for her, she has no choice but to find and establish her own voice.

 The more a woman is "forced" or "trained" to do things on her own, she will learn very quickly to start living without depending on the man who has repeatedly failed her. Soon, she will adapt living without a man period.

 A man's failure to hold a woman's best interest at heart, will teach her to fight for herself and be on her own. In her learning to fend for herself, she becomes self-reliant. Inevitably, she will also become totally independent.

 Like I said, it is a journey that took many years of unpleasant experiences with some very bad men that have made some women become totally disillusioned with the male population.

 IT IS NOT A FIGMENT OF IMAGINATION.

 Hence, please, do not blame the women.

 Instead, please try and understand.

 The truth is - in every woman's heart, she is waiting and wanting to be loved. 

 And I am willing to bet that it is the same for every man.

 There is no greater beauty and joy than being with the one you love. Someone who truly understands you, and allows you to just be.

 It would be beautiful when we find someone who is in love with our minds as much as our entire being. 

 Someone who wants to undress our conscience and make love to our thoughts and not just to our physique.

 Someone who wants to watch us slowly take down the walls which we have built up around our being, and invite them inside. 

 It would be beautiful when the two souls would eventually meet and love unconditionally.

 So, the real question remains ...

 Can we really learn to treat one another with decency and respect, and to love each other much better?

 What are you willing to do to achieve that?

 Have you done your very best so far?

 May we truly find a better way in the coming new year.

 May 2013 be the year of love and peace for all.