Justice rally in New York protesting Kathua, Unnao & Surat rapes

Agencies
April 18, 2018

New York, Apr 18: Several women's rights and advocacy groups, civil society and inter-faith organisations have joined hands to hold a rally here protesting against the rapes of young girls in Kathua, Unnao and Surat towns, expressing outrage at the horrific incidents and demanding swift justice.

The 'United For Justice Rally: Against the Rapes in India' was organised by Sadhana: Coalition of Progressive Hindus along with over 20 advocacy and civil rights groups, including Sakhi for South Asian Women, Women for Afghan Women, Turning Point for Women and Families, South Asian American Womens Alliance, Women's Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality, Shri Shakti Mariamma Temple, Shri Lakshmi Narayan Mandir, Shaanti Bhavan Mandir and Iskcon Sri Sri Radha Govinda, Brooklyn.

Organised near a famed statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the city's popular Union Square park here on April 16, the rally was held in response to the recent incidents of rape in Unnao, Kathua and Surat districts as well as against many other "horrors faced by South Asian women every day".

The speakers and participants at the rally expressed their solidarity with the young girls "brutalised" by the horrific crimes and demanded swift justice for each family.

They also called out the "complicity and hypocrisy" of India's political and religious leaders.

Sunita Viswanath, board member of Sadhana and one of the main organisers of the rally, told PTI that the rally was a beginning rather than an end toward calling for action against the horrific rapes and murders and to demand justice.

She said the organisers of the rally hoped to raise about $10,000 that would go toward the families of the three rape victims in Unnao, Kathua and Surat.

"We are in touch with the fund-raising campaign in India and we can guarantee that funds raised will reach the three families.We hope many people will donate, so that we can bring some relief to these three devastated families," she said.

Participants in the rally held up pictures of the minor girl who was gang-raped by six men and then murdered in Jammu & Kashmir's Kathua. They were also protesting the rape of a teenage girl in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao. The young girl has alleged that a lawmaker had raped her last summer.

They carried placards and posters that read 'Justice for our Girls', 'Silence is Compliance', messages demanding marital rape be made a crime, calling for children to be educated about sex and abuse, changing attitude toward women.

Giving a rallying call of "enough is enough", the speakers expressed outrage at the unabated incidents of rape and sexual abuse and at the attitude of government and law enforcement authorities toward the victims of the crimes.

"Some actions are so vile that it becomes necessary for people to come forth and condemn them.

The recent rapes in Unnao, Kathua and Surat, India, that have come into light are nothing short of absolute monstrosities," Sadhana said.

Expressing solidarity with the victims and their families, the speakers said the rapes across India as well as in every corner of the earth were "nothing short of evil" and everyone needed to stand up against the perpetrators.

They said they were "shaken, heartbroken, disgusted" over the incidents of rape and enraged to see that politicians and police officers, who were alleged culprits, were being defended by the government and law.

Sakhi for South Asian Women's Kavita Mehra called the rapes and crimes against women an "epidemic".

"We are sick and tired of what we have to go through for equity and justice. What we need is justice every single day and what we are not getting is justice every single day.We must resist, it is our time to resist and our time to fight back," she said.

Speakers called on the government to punish the prosecutors and "not protect them for political gains".

Daisy Khan of Women's Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality said she too hails from Kashmir and is heartbroken over the rape-and-murder case of Kathua.

"Those who claim to fight for justice are drowning in hypocrisy, fighting against those trying to defend the victims. My heart is breaking because I don't understand how people love the perpetrator and hate and reject the victim," she said, adding that the minor's death should "unite a nation proud of its tolerant heritage but instead they are being incited."

"It is heartbreaking that religions are being used as weapons to incite fear and hatred instead of connecting people to God." Khan asserted that the system had failed the minor and it failed women and girls every single day.

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News Network
July 14,2020

Washington, Jul 14: Florida on Sunday reported a record 15,300 new coronavirus cases, the most by any state in a single day even as the coronavirus cases in the country have surged to 3,363,056.

The Washington Post reported that the huge number was result of both increased testing and widespread community transmission. The numbers shattered previous highs of 11,694 reported by California last week and 11,571 reported by New York on April 15.

Natalie E. Dean, an assistant professor of biostatistics at the University of Florida wrote that with Florida largely open for business, he doesn't expect this surge to slow.

Nationally, the conversation over reopening has become increasingly fraught amid the newly soaring case numbers, with much of the debate centering on whether schools should open their doors in the fall, reported the Post.

The Health workers in California and Texas too are facing an influx of COVID-19 patients where officials reported seven day averages for new cases - 8,664 and 9060 respectively.

According to the report, Florida has reported nearly 70,000 cases in last week alone, the most of any state.

Even though the COVID-19 cases are surging, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has stuck to an aggressive reopening plan with state officials recently ordering schools to reopen five days a week in the new academic year.

The state is also set to hold the Republican National Convention next month in Jacksonville's VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, an indoor facility that seats about 15,000, reported Washington Post.

Seven-day averages for new cases -- considered a more reliable indicator of the virus's impact than single-day totals -- hit new highs in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Puerto Rico.

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News Network
April 2,2020

Washington, Apr 2: The total US death toll from the coronavirus pandemic topped 4,000 early Wednesday, more than double the number from three days earlier, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

The number of deaths was 4,076 -- more than twice the 2,010 recorded late Saturday.

More than 40 percent of recorded deaths nationally were in New York state, the Johns Hopkins data showed.

On Tuesday the United States exceeded the number of deaths in China, where the pandemic emerged in December before spreading worldwide.

The number of confirmed US cases has reached 189,510, the most in the world, though Italy and Spain have recorded more fatalities.

After initially downplaying the threat from new coronavirus in the early stages of the US outbreak, President Donald Trump warned of "a very, very painful two weeks" to come for the country on Tuesday.

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News Network
February 19,2020

Washington, Feb 19: Sri Srinivasan, a prominent Indian-American judge, has created history by becoming the first person of South Asian descent to lead a powerful federal circuit court considered next only to the US Supreme Court.

Srinivasan, 52, became the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.

An Obama appointee who has already been considered for a Supreme Court seat twice, donned the mantle of the chief judge of the DC federal court circuit on February 12.

Srinivasan succeeded Judge Merrick Garland, who has been a member of the DC Circuit since 1997 and Chief Judge since 2013. He will remain on the bench, a press release said.

Notably, Garland's nomination to the Supreme Court by the then president Barack Obama was blocked by Senate Republicans in 2016.

Srinivasan, was appointed to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in May 2013.

He was the first ever Indian-American to be appointed to the second most powerful court of the US.

Neomi Rao, nominated by President Donald Trump, is the second Indian American on this powerful judiciary bench.

History being made on the DC Court of Appeals. Congratulations, Judge Srinivasan! Senator Mark Warner said.

Congratulations to Judge Sri Srinivasan on becoming the Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit! A milestone for the Indian-American/Kansan community (and yet another piece of evidence my family can use that I'm underachieving), US Federal Communications Commission Chair Ajit Pai said.

According to The Washington Post, Srinivasan spoke recently about his path to the bench at an event celebrating women in the law, a field where men still dominate leadership positions.

"Everybody doubts their belonging and worthiness in some measure. I definitely did and still do. This is just going to be a part of the thing when you're looking out in the world in which everyone isn't like you. It's natural to doubt whether you belong and whether you're worthy, he said, "but you do belong and you are worthy.

Born in Chandigarh, and raised in Lawrence, Kansas, he received a B.A. from Stanford University, a J.D. from Stanford Law School, and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Following graduation, he served as a law clerk to Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III of the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, as a Bristow Fellow in the Office of the US Solicitor General, and as a law clerk to US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

From 2011 until his appointment to the US Court of Appeals, Judge Srinivasan served as the Principal Deputy Solicitor General of the United States.

He has argued 25 cases before the US Supreme Court. He has also taught appellate advocacy at Harvard Law School as well as a seminar on civil rights statutes and the Supreme Court at Georgetown University Law Center.

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