The horrific rape culture in the Indian state where motorist Fernanda was gang-raped: The couple will travel to Nepal tomorrow and then fly back to Spain

camping in Dumka It wasn’t in the plans Fernanda and Vicente. Drive a motorcycle through the north-east of India Were moving towards Nepal border, but on Friday, March 1, it became night on the road. Valencian explains to this newspaper, “India is not the safest country in the world to drive at night, especially on those rural roads. There are hardly any lights and there are animals coming in front of you that you can’t see coming. Don’t see.” vincent (63 years).

The horrific incident that happened after the camping trip spread around the world: Fernanda (28 years old) was beaten and gang-raped by seven men in turn. influential person Of Brazilian descent with Spanish nationality. They tied up Vicente and also beat him.

couple, who rest on safe floor EL MUNDO will be answered by phone again this Monday, provided by local authorities. They are overwhelmed with the attention they are receiving from the international media. “Even the newspapers in Iraq have called us,” says Vicente. Now, he says, the only thing he wants is to return to Spain.

,fernanda is still in painbut he looks pretty strong Take a motorcycle and get out of here. There is a plan to go to Nepal and Kathmandu on Tuesday. It is a two day journey. There we are going to take a plane to Spain,” says Vicente. “We will leave the motorcycles in Nepal. We want to relax and be with family. Then, when Fernanda has fully recovered, we will continue our tour of Asia. “We want to finish in New Zealand.”

Indian police have arrested four attackers and the other three have also been identified. On Sunday, the couple spent most of the day testifying before local authorities and the forensic team I collected samples in Dumka area400 meters from the road where he was attacked fernanda and vicente,

Dumka: 123 rape cases per month

Dumka It is one of the 24 districts of the state Jharkhand, 1,300 kilometers away from the capital New Delhi. This mountainous region has a long history of armed ethnic conflicts and is very rich very poor neighborhoodWith high rates of violence against women and frequent sexual attacks, especially those belonging to the lowest castes. Jharkhand It has one of the highest rape rates in the country: 7.6 per 100,000 inhabitants.

According to the latest report of the National Crime Records Bureau of India (2022), between September 2021 and February 2022, 123 rape cases per month, Another Jharkhand Police report between January 2020 and February 2023 included 5,255 cases of rape across the state.

Although the association always emphasizes that the majority of women They do not report due to the huge stigma prevalent Around the victims, there is a lack of support from the authorities, vague police investigations that often do not solve cases, and families that intimidate the victims themselves so that they do not press charges or marry their own rapists.

Last January, in Dumka (99 rape cases reported in 2022), same scenario Where Fernanda was sexually assaulted11 people were arrested Gang rape of 10 year old girl, In April 2023, another 14-year-old girl from the same area was raped in a field in Dumka. The same month, in another nearby village, a 10-year-old girl One group was sexually assaulted and then murdered.

In July, in the city Ranchime too Jharkhandthere were two minor students gang rape, That month, in the same city, another girl was sexually assaulted by a group of men. In Dumka in August, the principal of a residential school and a security guard were arrested for harassing girl students.

Last year a film was released, to kill a tigerWhich tells the story of a 13-year-old girl from Jharkhand All her neighbors gang raped and shamed her, His father, who was a very poor farmer, began a desperate fight for justice. The minor’s family faced intense social hostility after the father lodged a complaint against the attackers. villagers They hoped that the girl would marry one of her rapistsAs is often the practice.

Just five days ago, in another district of Jharkhand, Another 13-year-old girl murdered for resisting rape attempt, Two 21 year old youth strangled her. Going back years, there are many news stories about sexual harassment cases in this state: a 55-year-old farmer was raped by two police officers, a 33-year-old teacher was raped by four students…

India: one rape every 18 minutes

In IndiaAccording to official figures, on an average around 90 rape incidents are recorded every day. i.e, A rape occurs every 18 minutes., In 2012, the gang rape and murder of an Indian schoolgirl made international sections of newspapers around the world.

Jyoti Singh Pandey and his six rapists They put a metal rod in his stomach And they tore out a large part of his intestine. She was brutally tortured in the back of a bus in New Delhi. Apart from the beating, there were 13 bite marks all over his body. Thinking him dead, they threw his body on the roadside. But Singh was still alive. He survived long enough to identify his attackers. He died in hospital 13 days later. He was 23 years old.

caused the incident an unprecedented wave of protest This helped the government amend a series of laws across the country. a broad definition of cruelty against women, He opened centers to provide legal and medical aid to victims; They installed more closed circuit cameras on the streets of New Delhi; They deployed police on buses; He issued harsh sentences for rapists, including the death penalty.