RAPISTS TO THE GALLOWS- WHERE IS MODERN INDIA HEADING IN GENDER JUSTICE AND EQUALITY

Nation Stirred.       It seems like yesterday when the country was jolted awake by national outcry and media frenzy seeking justice for a 23 year old girl who was brutally raped and thrown out of a moving bus in the capitals highway.  In a nation where as per government statistics, a woman is raped every 22 minutes on average, the incident would have certainly faded as just another “Indian Rape Incident” had it not been for the media that fanned the ‘collective conscience’ of the nation into a blood lust for the convicted six.

To the Gallows.     Nine-months later, after demonstrations and debates had run their course and the incident was soon becoming a proof of the public amnesia in such cases, the verdict of death penalty was declared to all the four convicts by a so called “fast track court”.

 

Political Game or Judicial Harbinger.   Was the call for sending the four to the gallows a political gimmick to quench the thirst of the all essential vote bank or is it a harbinger of justice, making the country safer for women? In the torrents of tabloid gossip, social media tweets, online polls and comments, one must pragmatically analyse whether such blaring proclamations on capital punishments in the wake of nationwide sentiments are justified in the true essence of ‘justice’.  

"In these times when crimes against women are on rise, we cannot turn a blind eye towards such gruesome crime, we need to send a message that it will not be tolerated," 

                                                                                          -  Judge Yogesh Khanna.

 

An Eye for an Eye. Promptly after the verdict was given, it was argued that a court's primary duty was to dispense justice and punish the accused, in order to bring succour and final closure to the victim’s next of kin. The punishment acting as a deterrent to such barbaric and criminal acts in future is only the second aspect to judicial sentencing. 

 In this case, the verdict surely brought solace to those near and dear to the victim. Though the deterrent effects of the verdict may take its time and may be less evident than the satisfaction seen in the family of the victim, one can say that in all likelihood that in a country

Social Values in Modern India.   Indian society has been inflicted with gender bias and other social banes since independence due to archaic mindsets and lack of holistic education. The social stigma to gender crimes have generally blamed the victim of having “loose ideals/ western culture and clothes” and had even accepted marriage to the victim as a punishment for rape. With the nationwide protests and announcement of capital punishment for the perpetrators of the heinous crime, the Indian society surely seems to be awakening to the reality that there is no place for such draconian prejudices and attitudes in a modern society and India urgently needs to uproot gender based crimes in all its forms.

Strengthening the Laws of the Land.   The Media’s explicit disclosure of the graphic details of the rape cum murder case, while the victim battled for dear life with failing internal organs -damaged in the gruesome act, had triggered nationwide protests and eventually led to the Parliament passing more stringent amendments to the rape laws. Acts from use of criminal force on a woman with intent to disrobe, voyeurism, acid attacks and stalking were brought under the ambit of Law and death penalty granted for the most brutalized form of the crime.

Women Empowered.        The story of ‘Nirbhaya’ opened a Pandora’s Box of allegations of rape, molestations and acid attacks all over the country. It is not that such incidents have increased, but just that for a change the media seems to have found it an important issue to increase their ratings. Certain police figures have in fact show that the number of women reporting rapes has risen significantly since the New Delhi attack. This sure is an indicator that women who are victims of sexual attacks now feel more emboldened to come forward and report to authorities than they did before. This certainly is a positive change from days when a women kept her silence due to social stigma, police indifference and prejudices attached to Rape. Stringent and effective justice helps enforce the weaker sex and encourages them to come forward seeking justice. 

Iron Hand Vs Humane Justice.   A history of protracted judicial process, delayed rulings and presidential pardons in our country have hardly delivered the desired deterrent effect. Death sentences by Indian courts have rarely been carried out in the past decade with no state executions from 2004 till late 2012, when Ajmal Kasab from the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai was hanged. 

Many countries like those in the Middle East, the crime rate against women is relatively low due to harsher punishments. Among the countries that have chemical castration as punishment for rapists is South Korea. Singapore has enforced an iron hand when it comes to disciplining its citizens and today boasts of having one of the safest streets in the world. Such low crime rate and safer streets favour introduction of harsher laws as a portal to safer societies for women.

The Way Ahead.    Though Judicial changes and harsher convictions are one aspect in the battle towards gender safety and equality, much more needs to be done. First step in judicial cleansing is a higher rate of conviction rather than only harsher punishment being meted out, that too, after undue delays. Education of the rural population and under privileged also will yield positive outcomes and help change attitudes. Women safety is requires a call for judicial and police reforms for better trained police free from political interference, speedy professional investigations, quick convictions, early disposal of appeals and prompt justice.

 Today the modern Indian society needs to be sensitive to the reality of gender equality and do much more than lip service in changing the grassroots’ mindset of an archaic social male dominated system.  

 The need of the hour is a system wherein the dignity of the victim and psychological stresses are given due cognizance. The death verdict is not just some cosmetic step to satisfy the outraged public and keep the media at bay, but an attempt to create resurgence in gender equality and justice. Though how far does it achieve its effect on the Indian male prejudices, only time will tell.