The brutal rape and murder of a housewife somewhere at Chandel district on the intervening night of September 21 and 22 has once again proved that our women are not safe anywhere. It is not the brutality of the crime alone that has shocked us but the rising graph in the instances of rape and sexual molestation during the last few years. A close look at the incidence of rape all over the world will reveal that rape is much higher in male dominated societies than in societies where women are deemed to be as important as men.
We like to believe that our women are much better placed than their counter part in the rest of the country but the rising crime graph against women is enough to tell us that this is far from the truth. One reason why rape and sexual harassments continue to rise is because we as a society have not learnt to respect and accord dignity to the fairer sex. Every year we religiously observe the two Nupi Lans and even today the Meira Paibi movement has no parallel anywhere in the world but at the other end of the spectrum the culture of eve teasing is still intact.
It is rather ironic but true nevertheless that while our women appear to be placed on a pedestal roadside Romeos receive social sanction to harass the women folk who have stepped out from their homes. It is this refusal to respect the dignity of our women folk that has led, though indirectly to rising cases of atrocities against women and though it may sound extreme we may say that eve teasing amounts to sexual harassments and we all know what sexual harassments entail in the Western countries.
The point we are trying to drive home is that to prevent and stop the spiraling crime graph against women, we should first learn to respect women as individuals and not when they don the identity of Meira Paibis.
When we talk about rape can we forget the law courts? We do not know what provisions the court of law has to punish rapist but we would certainly like to see sterner and harsher penalty for rapists. And of course the trial should be fast and speedy and necessary steps should be taken to see that the rape victim is not traumatized again when the rape case if taken up for hearing. So many times, rape victims have had to undergo another round of humiliation and mental trauma when the case is taken up and if we are to encourage victims to come forward and lodge their complaints then these should be checked and kept to the minimum level.
The police and the society too should be sensitive to the sentiments of the victim. Our point of argument is this; if rape victims are encouraged to come forward and press charges then we are sure the incidence of rape may be checked to a certain extent. Another question that has been doing the round of the country is the type of punishment that should be meted out to rapists. Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani had even gone to the extent of suggesting the death row for rapists.
We do not know if the death penalty will stop the intending rapists but one thing we are sure is, the rapists should not be let off that easily and he should be humiliated in every possible way, particularly his manhood. As the inimitable Khushwant Singh suggested, will castration help in curbing rape cases?
(Courtesy: The Sangai Express)
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