In recent times, Brazil has seen a sudden hike in incidents of violent raping of women. The outrageous incidents have led to fierce protestations from the citizens. A woman was raped at gunpoint on a public bus full of passengers and moving through the city roads of Rio de Janeiro. It cannot be imagined the distress and hurt that the 30 year old must have suffered. Such an incident is sufficient in making the women citizens concerned about their safety in public. The next incident also occurred in a publicly exposed area. A teenager from the slums of the hillside was brutally raped on one of the beaches in Rio. Another lady was raped inside a transit van while it moved through busy streets and populated areas of Rio. The inefficiency of the police was proved and brought to the surface when they did not give priority to the last rape case and did nothing to arrest the gang. The gang, encouraged by the inactivity of police, went on to rape an American student a few days later in the same van and in the same manner.
The rape cases in Brazil are being compared to the Delhi rape case as both occurred in a running vehicle and in both cases the male companion of the girl was almost beaten to death. Drawing comparisons are not going to solve the issue. It only shows the vulnerable position of women globally. Some of the rapist gangs have gone so far to put up videos of their brutal and vulgar activities. It is probably becoming some kind of trend to rape women and humiliate them publicly to break their spirits. This can be pointing towards the urge of domination that men feel and the deep set insecurities that they are suffering from. Women who belong to the working class are more at risk because they have to travel alone most of the times and must use the public vehicles.
The protests of the public have forced the Brazilian government to awaken the slumbering law and order of the land. Recently the police, nudged by the government, have arrested six people in a rape case in Queimadas. Though Brazil, India and Egypt have women in power posts still women are still seen as mere sex objects. Not much has been done to secure female rights and a lot more can be done to ensure their safety.
