As Mumbai protestors continue their cries for justice in the aftermath of the brutal Thursday gang rape of a young photo journalist, the 22-year-old rape survivor has sent a message of courage and hope to her supporters from her hospital bed.
"Rape is not the end of life," the young woman told the Press Trust of India, adding that she hopes to return to work as soon as she can.
"I want the strictest punishment for all the accused and want to join duty as early as possible," she said.
Mumbai police say the young woman was repeatedly raped by five men Thursday night in a deserted textile mill. The woman and a male colleague, who was tied up with a belt and beaten in the attack, had reportedly been on a magazine assignment as interns in the area when the group of men approached them, offering help to enter the abandoned building.
NDTV reports that the suspects held a broken beer bottle over the young woman's head as they took turns raping her.
"It is appalling that a young woman working in the heart of Mumbai was attacked in this manner," said Bob Dietz, Asia program coordinator for the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, according to the AP.
Following public outcry over the December New Delhi attack, the federal government vowed to crack down on sexual violence in the country, introducing tougher laws and punishments for sexual crimes and harassment.
But now, people are asking whether these measures have been sufficient.
"[Mumbai] has this sense of security ... but these things make us feel that maybe we are not really that safe," said A. L. Sharada, director of Population First, a Mumbai-based non-proft that works on women's rights issues, according to Reuters. "Women should be able to move freely and take up work. Why should we be worrying about something bad happening to us all the time?"
Indian schoolchildren hold candles and placards during a prayer ceremony in Ahmadabad, India, Monday, Dec. 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
Indian policewomen stand guard during a protest in New Delhi, India, Monday, Dec. 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
An Indian student shouts slogans during a protest rally in Hyderabad, India, Monday, Dec. 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
Indian people shout slogans during a protest in New Delhi, India, Monday, Dec. 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Indian Rapid Action Force personnel in riot gear keep watch during a demonstration following the death of a gang rape victim in New Delhi on December 31, 2012. (RAVEENDRAN/AFP/Getty Images)
Indian demonstrators gather following the death of a gang rape victim in New Delhi on December 31, 2012. (RAVEENDRAN/AFP/Getty Images)
Indian demonstrators perform a prayer ritual in memory of a gang rape victim in New Delhi on December 31, 2012. (RAVEENDRAN/AFP/Getty Images)
A member of the student wing of Indias main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party vandalizes a police barricade during a protest after the death of a young woman who was recently gang-raped in a moving bus in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
An Indian lights a candle as she mourns the death of a young woman who was recently gang-raped in a moving bus in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Members of the student wing of Indias main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party try to break through a police cordon during a protest after the death of a young woman who was recently gang-raped in a moving bus in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Indian protesters hold candles and posters during a rally in Ahmedabad on December 30, 2012, following following the cremation of a gangrape victim in the Indian capital. (SAM PANTHAKY/AFP/Getty Images)
Indian protesters burn an effigy depicting rapists during a rally in New Delhi on December 30, 2012, following the cremation of a gangrape victim in the Indian capital. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images)
Indian protestors scuffle with police officials during a rally in New Delhi on December 30, 2012, following the cremation of a gangrape victim in the Indian capital. (RAVEENDRAN/AFP/Getty Images)
A young Indian child holds a lighted candle as she joins others during a protest rally in Ahmedabad on December 30, 2012, following the cremation of a gangrape victim in the Indian capital. (SAM PANTHAKY/AFP/Getty Images)
Members of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Mahila Morcha take part in a candlelight march in Amritsar on December 30, 2012. after the cremation ceremony for a gangrape victim. (NARINDER NANU/AFP/Getty Images)
Indian protestors shout slogans during a rally in New Delhi on December 30, 2012, following the cremation of a gangrape victim in the Indian capital.(RAVEENDRAN/AFP/Getty Images)
Indian residents shout anti-government slogans as they take part in a protest in New Delhi on December 30, 2012, after the cremation ceremony for a gangrape victim. (RAVEENDRAN/AFP/Getty Images)
An Indian protester holds placards during a rally in New Delhi on December 31,2012. The family of an Indian gang-rape victim said they would not rest until her killers are hanged as they spoke of their own pain and trauma over a crime that has united the country in grief.(SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP/Getty Images)
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