Armed with sandals and angst, women close ranks

LUDHIANA: As the city continues to simmer with resentment over the Delhi gang rape, women members of the Hindu Sikh Jagriti Sena took to the road armed with sandals, as an expression of their anger towards the accused.
The demonstrators gathered at Fountain Chowk at around 5pm and strongly raised the demand for better security and stern laws to check crimes against women."We carried sandals to give a stern message to the government that they cannot sit on the issue of security for women anymore. If they do so women will be left with no other option but to arm and protect themselves," said Anju Jain, a resident of Model town and member of the organisation committee.
Sena secretary Kanchan Khaira underscored the need for laws to be stern enough to act as deterrents. "Laws have to be amended and stringent measures have to be taken to instill fear in the minds of such men. Women should also learn self protection by learning martial arts," she suggested.
A large number of members of the BSNL Working Women Coordination committee organised a demonstration near the BSNL office close to Bharat Nagar chowk on Saturday afternoon. Addressing the demonstrators, Committee chairman Sukhpreet Kaur demanded public execution of the accused. The employees also prayed for speedy recovery of the rape victim.
A candle march was organized from Durga Mata Mandir, Dugri to Phase-1 market by residents, predominantly women, who gathered near the temple at around 6.30pm. "Our aim is to close ranks against this injustice and ensure that stringent action is taken against the accused. We are also praying for the life of the rape v1ictim," said Rajeshwari Gosain, organiser of the candle march.