NEW DELHI: With vigils and prayers, India on Sunday marked the first anniversary of the death of a student savagely gang-raped on a bus — a tragedy that sparked nationwide protests against the treatment of women.

The 23-year-old physiotherapy student died on December 29 last year, nearly two weeks after being attacked by a gang of six men on a moving bus as she returned home from the cinema in New Delhi with a male companion.

The attack and her subsequent death shook the country, shone a global spotlight on India’s treatment of women and unleashed seething public anger about sexual violence and harassment of women.

The victim’s family held a religious ceremony in their ancestral village in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, away from the constant media attention they have faced since the attack, her brother said.

“We held prayers in memory of our sister,” the brother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told reporters.

“The local villagers have been coming to our home since the morning and giving their wishes and strength to us,” said the brother, who earlier told reporters the family wanted to remember her “in a quiet way, away from all the glare”.

Although the brother welcomed reforms to police and judicial systems since his sister’s death, he said still more changes were needed, including a further shift in society’s attitudes towards women. “We do think that society as a whole still needs to change its mindset and even women should become more careful about their safety,” he said.—AFP