In the week when the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Bill, 2005, was introduced – there were a few more horror stories about violence aganist women.
The first is from Assam. And it mirrors the Imrana story. A father-in-law rapes his daughter-in-law and the local jamait has asked her to divorce her husband. wtf.
I don’t understand why the Muslim Personal Law is applicable to criminal acts. The Muslim Personal Law deals with marriages, divorces, and inheritence. Why is the board allowing itself to rule in areas that concern crime and punishment? And, why is the Government of the state not cracking down on this? This is not a time to play politics. But, to stand firm and ensure that the law of the land is obeyed.
Thankfully, this morning an Islamic organisation has spoken out on the matter of crime and punishement. The Jammat-e-Islami says:
“The man should be punished and Imrana and her children should be given proper care. According to Islam, her father-in-law should be stoned to death for such a crime, but in India laws do not permit this, so he should be tried according to the constitution,†said Jahrul Hassan, the President of Jammat-e-Islami at a meeting here.
This is a relief after the complete silence maintained by all parties on this issue. That is except for the right, which called for the imposition of the Uniform Civil CodeAnd idiot utterances by Mulayam Singh Yadav on the issue:
“The decision of the Muslim religious leaders in the Imrana case must have been taken after a lot of thought, The religious leaders are all very learned and they understand the Muslim community and its sentiments,â€
For his utterance, Mr.Yadav is the pappu for this week.
If you read the Milli Gazette – which has an excellent coverage on the issue – you will realise the complete confusion amongst religious leaders who have literally tripped over eachother to contradict one and other.
But, like most rape cases, in this one too the victim will go through rape twice. First when the actual act is committed. And the second, when her repuatation is taken apart. In Imrana’s case, she didn’t even have the right to privacy – that is automatically guaranteed by the law. And now leading figures are questioning whether the rape actually took place.
This morning, Salman Rushdie has ripped apart the Darul-Uloom seminary that issued the fatwa for Imrana to divorce her husband and marry her father-in-law.
Rushdie’s anger at theology is well directed, but I think that he has missed out on one target. And that target is the Governement – be it central, state or local – which has abysmally failed in the protection of the weakest sections of society, allowing this kind of idiocy to take place. Using the excuse of ‘protecting religious sentiments’ politicians have truly sold their soul to medivialists of all shades.
– If law and order- as represented by the police – existed at the village level, do you think that peole would go to get justice elsewhere?
– if there existed social workers – and my tax money and yours pays for them – at the village, who counselled the victim, would her trauma have been exacerbated so much more?
– if girls were educated, do you think that they would not have a better sense of ownership of their life. Rather than being pushed pillar to post.
UP is one of most poverty stricken and uneducated parts of India. It is governed by people who run the state like a fiefdom. Law and Order is for hire. Justice is for Sale. The state is one of the lowest in the literacy meter, and its concept of human rights is not getting your head blown off in one of the routine skirmishes that keep happening between various stakeholders. The disadvantaged are chattle and women property. And this is not specific to any one community.
I think for all of us sitting in cities, Imrana and the case from Assam has become a Muslim problem. And we feel very comfortable thinking that it can’t happen to us. The Uniform Civil Code seems to be this catch all solution to the plight of Muslim women. But, I think at a certain level we need to stop seeing it as a Muslim problem and look at it as a societal issue. To be more clear, the interference of religious bodies and social bodies vis-a-vis personal dignity and freedom.
There are caste panchayats that call for couples breaking caste rules to be killed up North. There are State Government’s that use taxpayers’ money to celebrate Sati. There are judges who offer the victim the chance to marry the rapist. The list is endless and too depressing to ennumerate. I truly hope that the Protection of Women from Domestic violence Bill is given a lot of teeth, to prevent violence of all forms from taking place.
Finally, this morning, I read about a minor who was raped by her own uncle and brother. If this is the crime, then what should be the punishment?
I vote for the UCC. We should bring in the hriyat for all. And castrate the bastards who indulge in such acts. Otherwise, Mohalla justice. That will be the best. Hang a few. Peace will reign.
When governments decide to become completely spineless when things like these happen, that’s when you begin to wonder how low politicians can stoop.
This is not a religious issue…it’s an issue of social justice, plain and simple. And the tip of a very large iceburg. These, more than anything else, shows where womens rights are in the subcontinent.
Depressing.
One of the better blogs around..
If you Indian, it is 6 years after the Kargil war. Please remember the heroes..
http://www.kashmir-information.com/Heroes/
Nice piece of article there.. It would be interesting to know what the National Commission for Women does in this case. Last I have heard.. it has sent a fact finding mission to Imrana’s place.
Only if few more people realised that it is not a religious issue, as much as it’s a social one. I blogged about MG’s report earlier, and you guessed it, invariably the comments went the religious route. Surprisingly, no one else in MSM has picked up that thread yet. So either MG is way off-the-mark or there’s more than what meets the eye.
If any more proof was required, how our society sucks, read this. She has now become a cash-cow for all and sundry. Yuck! Yuck, I say.
hmm..the ‘link’ button on comment didn’t do its job : here it is http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/5922_1436181,0015002100000000.htm
siargi,
U cannot castrate people for that and you cannot have Mohalla justice. That would be a new peak then. Cos then you’l find that every little common man who gathers his balls to fight injustice will be framed for the rape of his mother, which he did not commit, and be castrated in public.
i agree with you that mob justice is a bad idea. but, for the state to be respected – it not just needs to deliver justice, but be seen to deliver it!