Last week, i blogged about the judge who asked a rape victim to consider marrying her rapist.
Week before last we have the horrifying case of a 17 year old (minor) being raped in a police station.
Last Sunday a married woman is molested in local mumbai train, in front of her husband and child, by policemen.

A 14 year old girl in Hyderabad is repeatedly sexually abused by her own father and brother, and her grandmother tells her that it happens in all families.
And ofcourse, there is the dreadful story that i read yesterday about a minor girl in Kerala, who was repeatedly gangraped by 36 men. The High Court Judges aquitted all but 1 of the men, on grounds that the girl could have escaped at any time, and because she didn’t, she wanted it.

When I was a kid, the big rape story was a girl called Mathura who was repeatedly raped in a police station. That horrified the nation. It served to create a sense of suspicion against the police. Today, an average woman in India would think twice about approaching the criminal justice system for any reason. Afterall

In 2005, the legal and social sanction to rape seems to be more than ever before. The silence all around us on this issue is stifling. Where are the political parties, where are the women’s movements, where is there a general hue and cry about the state of society, and the evolving role of the police and judiciary.
There needs to be a serious look at sensitizing officers of the state on the rights of women. If a state cannot provide security to and preserve the rights of almost 50% of its citizens, is the state performing its basic duties?

6 thoughts on “Social & Legal Sanction of Rape

  1. We are a sick society. When I say this, it is not confined to India alone.
    Rape cases should have summary trials…like what was done in the Wild West. String up the bastard. After that, he can be tried by perverse judges in courts. There my be a few who are innocent. A few judges can also be chosen for this great task.Doesn’t matter. They wouldn’t have sacrifised their lives in vain. Because after few ‘hang ups’, incidence of rape would have come down before eventiually stopping.

  2. For the women & girls who stood up for themselves & refused to submit, Good for you!
    For those are scared to come forward; please understand that’s what the rapists want, to stay hidden. What was done to you was a crime. If it was done by someone you knew, they also, stole the trust you had in them. I agree, judges need to stand up for the victims, not let the rapists walk. For the judge who said that the girl who had been raped by the 36 men for over 40 days, ask him if he could get away from 36 dangerous animals who wanted to harm him(that’s what those men were).

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