A right-wing political party in India handed out kitchen knives and small bags of chilli powder to women in the city of Mumbai in the wake of a gang rape that sparked a national debate about sex crimes, Reuters reported. The Shiv Sena party handed out 21,000 knives with three-inch blades and plans to distribute a total of 100,000. The low-tech solution to sexual assault is a "symbolic gesture" said Shiv Sena spokesman Rahul Narvekar, adding that a knife shorter than six inches does not qualify as a weapon. Local party official Ajay Chaudhari was quoted by Agence France-Presse saying “The way you cut vegetables, cut the hand of the person who touches you the same way.” Mumbai police said they were examining the knives and considering legal action. The brutal gang rape of a 23-year-old student on a bus in New Delhi ignited protests all over the country over safety for women. The student later died from her injuries in December in a hospital in Singapore.
