By Jenniefer Dkhar
It is horrifying to pick up a newspaper every morning or switch on the news channel these days because what would be staring at our faces is molestation, rape and murder. There never seems to be a day when news of rape and murder do not occur. Every single day is a day of pain and loss of respect and dignity for the victims and a day that reiterates the loss of humanity. We are exchanging our piety and goodness with acts of monstrosity to the extent that our men do not hesitate to even rob the modesty of a nine month old child. What is even more tragic is when the violators are usually people known and related to the victim; a cousin, an uncle, a grandfather and a father. Can this be an act of a sane human being? Isn’t this an act of the devil incarnate?
Almost every corner of the country is plagued with this disease called Rape – an act that constitutes control, dominance, authority, strength, and the power to humiliate, hurt, defile and defame the victim. There are men who rape to gain sadistic pleasure while the victim is in agony, pain, anguish, torture, vulnerability, and suffering. While the victim is writhing in pain the rapist undergoes an erotic experience.
One fears that rape and sexual violence, in a way only accentuates stereotypical views about women who are usually projected as objects which can be used, abused and subjugated by men. However one also attributes the abundance of atrocities on women and girl children to the degeneration of a human being’s consciousness and a disintegration of man’s moral and ethical values, an exaggerated sense of masculinity, command, power, supremacy, low opinion that men have on women. How far can men degrade themselves? How low can these men stoop that they are ready to bargain their pleasure for a girl’s morality? What could be more painful and frightening as a human being, as a woman and as a mother to live in a society that is no longer safe and secure?
What are we as a community and inmates of this world doing to bring about a stop to this sin? Sadly, we are doing nothing much! Because if we are, then perhaps many victims would have been granted justice and the crime itself would have decreased. Alas, this is not to be as with every passing day more crimes occur. Crimes take place every day while criminals are not punished. How many victims have been granted justice? In most cases, we hear of the victim committing suicide due to embarrassment, social stigma and denial of justice. How often has there been a rapist who has paid dearly for his crime? While we appreciate protest marches and candle light vigils held but the criminals are still at large in most cases. While the victim will have to live with this scar for life or even commit suicide or be murdered, her violator would either be at large or would still be alive and kicking and going about his daily life like before. Why is this so? Isn’t this because our legal system was, has and perhaps is still very liberal with the perpetrators of such devilish acts. At times there are no arrests made and even if the culprit is arrested the process is usually slow paced. Meanwhile the perpetrator gets bail, goes home live a normal life with no remorse for the heinous crime he had committed. He may commit many more heinous crimes and offences. After all why and who should he fear? The law is too lethargic and slow to convict and punish him.
What is alarming is that this failure in our system may encourage evil-minded men to perpetrate similar crimes without any inhibitions and fear. Instead of the law taking immediate severe action to curb such crimes and act as a strong deterrent against such menace to the society the inaction and slow pace of court trials would only further exacerbate such crimes. In this entire process, it is the victim who is the ultimate sufferer while the criminal is the one who is free. Is this fair? The failure of our legal system to deliver justice to the victims and pronounce judgement on the perpetrator appears as if they are challenging the very laws of the land; the system altogether.
One strongly believes that low conviction rate is one of the root causes of rape. Therefore there is a need to increase conviction in rape cases. For this to occur, the law and the courts have to make rigorous changes to the existing rape laws. Only then will rape laws act as deterrents. No criminal should get away with a meagre punishment of imprisonment and minimal fine. No resourceful and influential criminal should compensate for the crime by paying a huge amount of money to the victim and be acquitted, free from blame or even pardoned. The court of law must comprehend the truth that these criminals are without any conscience, scruples and moral values and will not be deterred until and unless they are awarded punishment equivalent to the pain and stigma that the victim goes through throughout her life.
In a country like ours, the law of the land gives that freedom to the accused to defend himself but what is important is that the intensity of the case must be recognized so that no accused escapes scot free and no victim is denied justice. Hence no compromise must be made on the basis of how influential both politically and financially the accused may be. Sadly what is prevalent in our society today is the presence of a disparity and partiality.
Today talks are doing the rounds of death penalty to anyone who rapes a girl below 12 years of age. First of all, I am of the opinion that the idea of putting an age limit is so out of place. A rape is a rape; be it of a 9 month old child or a 99 year old woman. If at all death penalty is the answer let it be irrespective of the age of the victim..
As a woman, as a mother and as a responsible member of the society, I urge upon my fellow human beings to be more conscientiousness and to guide our boys and girls to take the path of righteousness and virtue. It’s about time that we bring about a revolutionary change as far as this heinous crime and sinful act is concerned. We can no longer afford to simply read and watch the news of rapes and murder as mere events and thank God that it is not happening in our homes.
