The announcement (and inclusion) of Death penalty as a punishment for rape committed on less than 12 year old girls, is an extremely sad and also a dangerous precedent. It sweeps away the real issues under the carpet and marketed as the solution to the problem of rapes and violence in the country that seems to be on the rise off late.
Unfortunately the real issue is the CONVICTION of the rapists, especially those who are powerful, well connected or affiliated with political parties. The shoddy investigation conducted in such cases is often the beginning of the safety net that ensures their escape. How does the police or the investigating agencies ensure that the investigation is well done and is sharply presented in the courts? That is the issue.
There are also other issues that we must not overlook: the hate speeches by politicians to incite their cadres for such violence. The silence from top leaders when such atrocities are either committed on people whom they do not see as their vote bank or committed by those who are somehow affiliated to them / their ideologies. How does one ensure this does not happen? That is the issue.
Then, there are some fundamental issues like the status of women in the society, the grossly distorted understanding of sexuality, the pseudo-religious ideas imposed upon people in the name of being righteous and, not to forget, the objectification of women and the notion of their ownership, as 'property'. The patriarchal society and its outlook, that renders the act of rape as a tool of revenge, subjugation and shaming the victim and / or the family, is the problem. The sick society is the problem.
The death sentence unfortunately does nothing to solve any of the actual problems. At best it remains a populist, political move to avoid or side step dissent, while pushing an entire country backwards! It also serves to distract from the issues that contribute to and allow the rapes to go on.
The likely inferences one can draw from the imposition of Death penalty are: 1. The desire to feel more powerful over the lives of the others (most likely weaker or lower in status) or 2. A moral / legal justification to one’s lust for murder that absolves one of feeling guilty. In reality it is about playing the game of death, this way or that. That an innocent person may get murdered in the process, can’t be more true today than ever before.
We certainly need to stand against rape and violence. We also must press for and ensure speedy justice and conviction of those who have committed such crimes, irrespective of their status and power. However, we need not allow ourselves to become a part of the ‘game of death’ that some love to play. No matter how much they market it as the ‘only solution’, it still remains merely 'murder' that gets a legal sanction.
A victim of rape is unlikely to benefit from it, but some politicians and those with blood lust may.
What we need is not blood on our hands but a humane society where rapes do not happen, where violence does not take place, where politicians do not incite hatred, where women are treated as equals and where children can run freely in the meadows without the fear of being stalked and killed.
Let us get our priorities right. Let us not allow ourselves to become pawns in a perverted society that may celebrate and dance to someone's death with a delusional notion that justice is served.
Parvez
April 22, 2018
Ref: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-rape-deathpenalty/india-approves-death-penalty-for-rape-of-girls-under-12-idUSKBN1HS09S
https://www.bloombergquint.com/law-and-policy/2018/04/22/2013-committee-had-cautioned-against-death-penalty-for-rape
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(All material on this blog is copyrighted! Sharing of complete articles or their links, without editing, and with due credit, is allowed for non-commercial purposes only. For publication or any other use, please contact the author.)
