Inciting Change

I'm in the library waiting for 4:30 p.m. to come around so I can go shoot a lecture on campus for Photojournalism I, when I come across this saddening, albeit not completely shocking article. A 22-year-old photojournalist raped by four men and a "juvenile" (delinquent doesn't even begin to cover it) in Mumbai, India on Aug. 22 died "from massive internal injuries from being penetrated by a metal rod" two weeks after the attack. The headline aims to report the good news, if there can even be good news at this point, that the police have filed charges against the men. In a country where incidents of rape have gone up by 873% in the past 60 years and where rape culture is obviously pervasive, we can only hope this young woman's death will not be in vain, that it might be more enlightening than her photos and reporting could have been. 


Journalists often have to face dangerous situations. She made the choice to travel to India on assignment, and tragically was a victim of the country's confusion over its values. But that doesn't change the fact that rape is is horrifically violent and sometimes fatal, as it was in this case. It is a major societal problem in India and in so many places in the world, where the treatment of women is still cause for concern. I sit here, a woman with journalistic aspirations, and wonder- what will I face? As responsible journalists, we cannot stop sending reporters to India, and other dangerous places. If we do that, we give up, and we lose sight of every journalist's ultimate goal: to shine a light on issues otherwise left unilluminated. India has a long way to go before it becomes remotely safe for its women citizens and visitors, and journalism can be an important agent for change. India's attitude towards rape will not change on its own. How many women have to suffer gang rape? How many have to die? How many stories have to be written? There is no number, only a mission. Let's change things.