A recently released documentary about the gang rape and death of a young woman in New Delhi back in 2012 has brought anger from several sides. Leslee Udwin directed the documentary, called "India's Daughter", to show the reasons why rape occurs in society. Indian officials, however, blocked the film from being televised nationally. The documentary includes an interview with one of the attackers, who showed no remorse and blamed the death on the victim.
Those opposed to the documentary claim that it dishonors the deceased victim by giving a platform to her rapist. Manish Sisodia, the deputy chief minister of Delhi, criticized the film.
"What kind of journalism is this - interviewing a rapist and airing his views "¦ Don't we know he's a rapist? Why should people be told why he did it?" he said.
Mukesh Singh, the convict interviewed in the documentary, shows no remorse for his crime. "You can't clap with one hand," he said. "It takes two hands. A decent girl won't roam around at 9 o'clock at night. A girl is far more responsible for rape than a boy. Boy and girl are not equal. Housework and housekeeping is for girls, not roaming in discos and bars at night doing wrong things, wearing wrong clothes. About 20 percent of girls are good."
The victim was a 23-year-old female who was returning home with her male friend after watching "Life of Pi". It was around 9 pm when the two entered a private bus, not knowing it was not in service. Six men on the bus, including Singh, were allegedly searching the streets that night for a victim. They knocked the male friend unconscious and took the victim to the back of the bus and took turns raping her. During the assault, a metal rod was used to penetrate the victim and damaged her internal organs. She and her friend were thrown out of the bus and she died in a hospital two weeks later.
"When being raped, she shouldn't fight back," said Singh. "She should just be silent and allow the rape. Then they'd have dropped her off after "doing her,' and only hit the boy."
The victim was from a modest family who sold much of what they had to give her and her brother an education. The young woman was a physiotherapy student and had aspirations of becoming a doctor. She was described as hardworking and brilliant.
Proponents of the documentary state that the film sheds light onto the deeper problem of rape: the causes of rape. "My integrity and my objective in making this film is totally honest. I myself have been raped. There is no shame for me; the shame is for the rapists. The film tries to show the disease is not the rapists, the disease is in society," said Udwin.
