I am aghast, appalled and shocked beyond words at the atrocity being done on women in this country. I am filled with such utter contempt and shock at the inhuman manner in which a young 23 year girl was gang raped and beaten and left to die on the roads of Delhi. I am feeling a sense of such desperation and my mind cannot even fathom the trauma and shock she must have gone through. All I know is through the media, no one knows what heinous acts the rapists did to her. How can people do such inhuman treatment to other humans? She was raped numerous times by different men and beaten up and tortured. Do these rapists not have mothers, sisters and wives? How would they feel if some other man did that to the women in their lives? Who gave these brutal animals the right to touch another person, to molest her, to rape her? As I read up the news about how brutally she was molested, raped and beaten, I feel a sense of nausea and disbelief that humans are capable of committing such torture to innocent persons. What was her crime? Her only crime was that she is born a woman in a country like India where women are still being subjected to such inhuman behaviour.
This is a country where the Government is inept and immune to such happenings. Forget learning from past history, no measures are being taken to ensure that women feel safe in their cities. When has rape not happened in Delhi? Every other day, I read of rape cases in the national capital. Considering that the city is unsafe for women, why are measures not being taken by the Government? Why is it that we all just say Delhi is the rape capital and so unsafe? Why is no action being taken by the Government? If the Government is so inept and incapable of ensuring the safety of women in their city, they should probably issue a notification stating "Please venture out at your own risk. We cannot ensure your safety in your own city and whatsoever that may happen to you is entirely your own responsibility and we cannot be held liable for the same". I think no lesson has been learnt by the Delhi Police / Government. Forget Delhi, is any city in India safe for women? We hear of rising crimes and rapes in almost all cities. Recently there was a rape case of a Spanish woman in Mumbai in which the thief broke into her house and robbed her and raped her. Are women even safe in their homes?
Every time a rape case comes to light, the media goes frenzy and news hour debates take place on news channels and 24*7 headlines are issued. But for how long? A week, a month? What happens after that? Does anybody even bother to check whether justice is being done? What is the state of the victim? Apart from her family and her, no body can understand the sensitivity of the crime and the trauma she has to go through. Candle light vigils/ protest marches all are being done after every such incident but what is the outcome of such actions? Will our deaf Government give the women of this country a guarantee of safety? Will it ensure that such crimes are not repeated again? There were protest marches in Ireland too against the abortion laws after the death of a woman. Yes, the Ireland Government listened to the public and has taken action against such laws. Why can't the same thing happen in India?
I can think of no other crime more horrific than rape. The incident leaves the victim shattered and no matter what the world says that time heals, no time can heal the wounds of rape. It is the most disgusting and inhuman act that can ever be done to a woman. It can tear her soul and her mind and she might be left incapable of doing anything in her life. The mental trauma of a rape victim cannot be described by anyone apart from her and I will do no justice if I sit to elaborate on that. In my personal view, I feel deeply saddened by the pain such a woman goes through at the moment of the incident and after that. In a country of ours, the society views such victim with sneer and ridicule rather than supporting her and punishing the perpetrators. I just read about another rape victim who is stated to have no job, no support from society and she lives in a state of misery and cannot even put up meals for her two children.
We even hear of a certain community which says that such rapists should have the option of marrying the victim. Do they think by marrying the victim, their crime is neutralized? Why should the woman marry such a disgusting and barbaric creature? Who are these people to even think of such a ridiculous law? Why can't we as a decent, educated nation be more sensitive to victims of rape? Even if the rapists are punished, can it reverse the ordeal and trauma of the woman? Can it give her mental state and happiness back? No, it can't!
The only way out to end this brutality is give such a deterrent punishment to the rapists that men will think twice before even thinking to rape a woman. Nothing less than capital punishment should be awarded to rapists. The IPC provides minimum punishment of 7 years and upto life for rape and minimum punishment of 10 years RI upto life for gang rape. This is not a deterrent for rapists who think they will get away with their crimes. Many cases go unreported and many a times the police treat cases as closed because of their inability to find the culprits. Rather than helping the victims while filing the FIR, the police pass sneering remarks and lewd comments which further humiliate the victim. I would like to state that court proceedings of rape cases are very insensitive as the defence usually ask humiliating details regarding the horrific rape. The victim not only undergoes severe trauma at the time of the incident but also throughout the whole proceedings. Being a lawyer myself, I know that the defence lawyers are doing their duty but seeing the sensitive nature of the horrendous crime committed, there is a need to ensure victims are given due respect and not humiliated any further, albeit in the name of justice. Chemical castration is another punishment that is being given in several countries. Why not introduce the same in our country wherein the number of rape cases are on the higher side compared to other nations?
Something needs to be seriously done to ensure women safety in this country. We CANNOT be treated and subjected to such heinous crimes! We need to feel safe when we go out in the city and we need to be reassured that we will return home safe. If nothing is done by the Government this time around, there will be another rape and gang rape followed by outbursts of citizens and no substantive action.
WE DEMAND ACTION AND WE DEMAND IT NOW!
This is a country where the Government is inept and immune to such happenings. Forget learning from past history, no measures are being taken to ensure that women feel safe in their cities. When has rape not happened in Delhi? Every other day, I read of rape cases in the national capital. Considering that the city is unsafe for women, why are measures not being taken by the Government? Why is it that we all just say Delhi is the rape capital and so unsafe? Why is no action being taken by the Government? If the Government is so inept and incapable of ensuring the safety of women in their city, they should probably issue a notification stating "Please venture out at your own risk. We cannot ensure your safety in your own city and whatsoever that may happen to you is entirely your own responsibility and we cannot be held liable for the same". I think no lesson has been learnt by the Delhi Police / Government. Forget Delhi, is any city in India safe for women? We hear of rising crimes and rapes in almost all cities. Recently there was a rape case of a Spanish woman in Mumbai in which the thief broke into her house and robbed her and raped her. Are women even safe in their homes?
Every time a rape case comes to light, the media goes frenzy and news hour debates take place on news channels and 24*7 headlines are issued. But for how long? A week, a month? What happens after that? Does anybody even bother to check whether justice is being done? What is the state of the victim? Apart from her family and her, no body can understand the sensitivity of the crime and the trauma she has to go through. Candle light vigils/ protest marches all are being done after every such incident but what is the outcome of such actions? Will our deaf Government give the women of this country a guarantee of safety? Will it ensure that such crimes are not repeated again? There were protest marches in Ireland too against the abortion laws after the death of a woman. Yes, the Ireland Government listened to the public and has taken action against such laws. Why can't the same thing happen in India?
I can think of no other crime more horrific than rape. The incident leaves the victim shattered and no matter what the world says that time heals, no time can heal the wounds of rape. It is the most disgusting and inhuman act that can ever be done to a woman. It can tear her soul and her mind and she might be left incapable of doing anything in her life. The mental trauma of a rape victim cannot be described by anyone apart from her and I will do no justice if I sit to elaborate on that. In my personal view, I feel deeply saddened by the pain such a woman goes through at the moment of the incident and after that. In a country of ours, the society views such victim with sneer and ridicule rather than supporting her and punishing the perpetrators. I just read about another rape victim who is stated to have no job, no support from society and she lives in a state of misery and cannot even put up meals for her two children.
We even hear of a certain community which says that such rapists should have the option of marrying the victim. Do they think by marrying the victim, their crime is neutralized? Why should the woman marry such a disgusting and barbaric creature? Who are these people to even think of such a ridiculous law? Why can't we as a decent, educated nation be more sensitive to victims of rape? Even if the rapists are punished, can it reverse the ordeal and trauma of the woman? Can it give her mental state and happiness back? No, it can't!
The only way out to end this brutality is give such a deterrent punishment to the rapists that men will think twice before even thinking to rape a woman. Nothing less than capital punishment should be awarded to rapists. The IPC provides minimum punishment of 7 years and upto life for rape and minimum punishment of 10 years RI upto life for gang rape. This is not a deterrent for rapists who think they will get away with their crimes. Many cases go unreported and many a times the police treat cases as closed because of their inability to find the culprits. Rather than helping the victims while filing the FIR, the police pass sneering remarks and lewd comments which further humiliate the victim. I would like to state that court proceedings of rape cases are very insensitive as the defence usually ask humiliating details regarding the horrific rape. The victim not only undergoes severe trauma at the time of the incident but also throughout the whole proceedings. Being a lawyer myself, I know that the defence lawyers are doing their duty but seeing the sensitive nature of the horrendous crime committed, there is a need to ensure victims are given due respect and not humiliated any further, albeit in the name of justice. Chemical castration is another punishment that is being given in several countries. Why not introduce the same in our country wherein the number of rape cases are on the higher side compared to other nations?
Something needs to be seriously done to ensure women safety in this country. We CANNOT be treated and subjected to such heinous crimes! We need to feel safe when we go out in the city and we need to be reassured that we will return home safe. If nothing is done by the Government this time around, there will be another rape and gang rape followed by outbursts of citizens and no substantive action.
WE DEMAND ACTION AND WE DEMAND IT NOW!
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