Following the rise in horrific gang rapes in India in the past several months, the Times Of India newspaper has now started to run quarter-page adverts imploring men to treat women with respect.
“The true test of your manhood is how you treat a woman. All women. Any woman. Every woman,” reads the advert, which encourages men to stop and really think about their attitudes and actions towards women.
These adverts are the latest ‘respect women’ campaign to pop up in the country following the notorious gang rape on a bus in New Delhi.
Last month, a 23-year-old physiotherapy student was brutally raped and beaten on a moving bus on December 16th. The student was then thrown onto an expressway. The student eventually died from the severe injuries that were inflicted on her during the attack.
Last week, a political party in India sparked controversy by handing out bags of chilli powder and 21,000 kitchen knives to women so they could protect themselves in case they were attacked.
Since the student’s death, more and more women in India are taking up self-defence classes and carrying pepper spray in an attempt to protect themselves.
Image via Johnny Chatterton
