Bengal gang rape vicious, horrible: Oscar-winning filmmaker Freida Lee Mock

Kolkata: Moved by the news of gang rape of a septuagenarian nun in West Bengal's Nadia district, Oscar-winning filmmaker Freida Lee Mock on Monday said such "vicious" attacks on women were "unacceptable" and "horrible".

The sister superior of the Convent of Jesus and Mary High School in Ranaghat - some 80 km from here - was gang-raped by bandits in the early hours of Saturday, sending shock waves across the country and even beyond.

"It is horrible. A vicious attack like this is unacceptable," Mock told the media here.

Mock's repertoire includes Oscar winner 'Maya Lin: A Strong Vision', a feature film about the designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and Oscar-nominated films like 'Rose Kennedy: A Life to Remember' and 'SING!', on one of the best American children's choruses.

"While we talk about gender equality, it is crucial to discuss women's safety in workplaces, be it anywhere, be it any profession," Mock said.

Mock's newest documentary film, 'Anita - Speaking Truth to Power', chronicles the life and times of Anita Hill, the American attorney who in 1991 accused US Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas, her supervisor at the US Department of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, of sexual harassment.

Echoing Mock, writer and founder-editor of the site 'Women and Hollywood', Melissa Silverstein said perpetrators of the gang rape should be brought to justice.

"This is an abominable incident. The perpetrators should be brought to justice. It seems that we still live in a world where we don't have freedom and justice and safeguards over our own bodies whether we are 17 or 72. We are all moved by this," Silverstein said.

The writer batted for ensuring safety of women of every age.

"It shouldn't matter whether a woman is 17 or 72. It should matter whether any woman is assaulted," the editor stressed.

They were here as part of the fifth edition of 'Our Voice, Our Journey', a series of events to explore the lives of dynamic women and the difference they have made to their communities, organised by the American Center in collaboration with Ananta Aspen Center.