India’s parliament has passed a new law that protects women from sexual violence.  Following the horrible bus gang rape earlier in December, the rape and murder of three young sisters, and the most recent gang rape of a Swiss tourist, this piece of legislation is a much needed and an incredibly welcome change for women in India. The law, which will not be official until the president signs it into action, criminalizes stalking, ... Read More

We could only hope that after the New Delhi bus incident and the rape and murder of three young sisters that media coverage would somehow ameliorate these problems, at least a little bit. Instead we receive more devastating news: a Swiss tourist was gang raped in front of her husband while camping in central India. The couple was on a bike tour and decided to set up camp in Madhya Pradesh when between five and seven men attacked them, ... Read More

India, in the midst of grappling with the aftermath of the December New Delhi gang rape, has been rocked by the news of yet another horrific sex crime. On February 16th, the bodies of three sisters aged 7, 9, 11, were found in a well in Maharashtra, a region south of New Delhi. According to an Associated Press report, the local police dismissed the deaths as accidental, and refused to investigate. After two days of police inaction, ... Read More

On February 15th, the Harvard College Women’s Center announced a new initiative, the “Beyond Gender Equality” Policy Task Force. According to a HCWC statement, the Task Force’s “principal task this semester is to produce a working paper that advises on the implementation of the recommendations from the Verma Committee,” offering “recommendations to India and other South Asian countries in the wake ... Read More

India introduced a new set of stricter laws regarding sexual assault and trafficking this weekend, responding to pressure from protestors and activists in light of the gang rape and eventual death of a 23-year-old student in New Delhi this winter.  While the new legislation is a step in the right direction, women’s groups are not pleased with the government’s efforts. Though the laws put into place yesterday do well to ... Read More