I was gang-raped by 40 men, says nun
Sat Oct 25

A nun who was allegedly raped by more than 40 men during recent anti-Christian violence in eastern India demanded a federal investigation, and accused local police of shielding her attackers.

The nun said she was sexually assaulted by a rioting mob on August 25, days after the murder of a Hindu priest sparked attacks by Hindu extremists on the Christian community in coastal Orissa state.

"They pulled out my sari and one of them stepped on my right hand and another on my left hand and then a third person raped me," said Mina Barwa, who broke down in tears several times while speaking to reporters in New Delhi.

Barwa, 29, said she was dragged to a burned-out Christian home where the terrifying crime occurred. She was then beaten with sticks and paraded semi-naked in the streets as mobs threatened to gang rape her.

"They had already torn away my blouse and undergarments," she said of her attackers. "And they went on beating me with their hands on my cheeks and head and with sticks on my back."

More than half-a-dozen people have been arrested over the incident.

But Barwa, who covered her face with a scarf while speaking with reporters, said she had little faith in local Orissa police.

"State police failed to stop the crimes, failed to protect me from the attackers, they were friendly with the attackers, and they tried their best to make sure that I did not make complaints against police," she said.

"I was raped and now I don't want to be victimised by the Orissa police."

At least 35 people died in weeks of anti-Christian attacks in Orissa and nearly 50,000 fled their homes. Many of them remain in state-run shelters.

"The conditions in those relief shelters are terrible. There are no toilets and officials say tribal women don't need any toilets," said rights activist John Dayal.

Thousands of people are also living in the forests, unable to return as their houses have been burned down, Dayal said.

"People have no faith in police."

Mobs have attacked dozens of churches, prayer halls and Catholic-run schools and burned down scores of Christian homes in the state, which is ruled by a political party allied to India's Hindu nationalist party.

Hardline Hindu groups accuse missionaries of bribing poor tribes people and low-caste Hindus to convert to Christianity by offering free education and health care.

Catholic groups say Christians in the state are being forced to reconvert to Hinduism.

Pope Benedict XVI has strongly condemned the violence.

India's Supreme Court this week rejected a plea by a Catholic bishop for a federal investigation into the alleged rape, saying the matter should be probed by the Orissa police.

Religious clashes erupt periodically in India where only 2.3 percent of the more than 1.1 billion population are practising Christians.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=653293

sprint, What was that you posted in the Islamic forum the other day?? Jews, Christians, Hindus and Buddhists all respect one another, it's only Muslims who don't?

We already crossed Jews off that list, now Hindus too?

actually in Islam the face is permitted to be seen- so the point is moot anyway

no woman asks for rape

let's not make this about islam or how she was dressed thankyou- it's about hindu extremism. go nuts.

jordan484 wrote on Oct 26^th, 2008 at 4:53pm:


dude, take it elsewhere. start another thread if you want but this thread is NOT ABOUT ISLAM. PERIOD.

jordan484 wrote on Oct 26^th, 2008 at 4:57pm:


no worries mate. cheers

Abu - I would not think this behaviour was directed to hindus by their beliefs.
Unfair to blame the whole belief for actions some do, when those actions are condemned by that same belief.

Do jews discriminate against nonjews ??
Maybe a good thread to start

mozzaok wrote on Oct 26^th, 2008 at 5:04pm:

Of course. The social forces that bind would rally under another ideology. Something like ethnocentrism or nationalism (or communism). Take the predilection towards national or ethno-chauvinism (manifestations of which are sometimes posted here), enter the inevitable leader – the charismatic erudite sociopath, add the obligatory rivals (the enemies within and without), focus adherents on ‘crimes against our noble cause’, wait for an economic or social catastrophe and… just rape them? Why not rape them, dismember them and tie their body parts to a tree?

there's something about crimes like these- they're so horrific you can't even imagine them. I find it hard to even understand this.

this woman is amazingly strong. being raped by one person is horrific enough, being gang raped is horrific enough- but being gang raped by 40 men? mother of god. and then she has the strength to come on tv and talk about it.

and all this within the context of being a nun- someone who was most likely a virgin and lived by virtues of modesty etc. I am surprised she can even speak. I think my mind would have completely broken.

may god help her and punish the filth who violated her, those who stood by and encouraged it and those who stood by and did nothing.

I wonder what the good ol' boys in the deep South of the US of A would do if a Hindu lady was openly evangelising Hindu and successfully converting some of their good Christian sons to Hindu.

Of course it's wrong, it's brutal and I feel sorry for her.

In the end, people feel very strongly about their national cultures and religions. Any cross-cultural missionary work like this is frought with danger.

Mozz -I think the point we need to understand in all this, is that rape is about taking a power trip. It has very little to do with sexual gratification.