While one of the greatest sins promoted by Satan is illicit sex, there cannot be a greater indignity and humiliation for a chaste woman than rape. The former opens the floodgates of immodesty and immorality and the latter stigmatises a woman for her entire life. Unfortunately, both these are becoming rampant in our society and the pressures of material pursuits and loosening of moral values are enhancing these abominations.
National Crimes Record Bureau has reported 24,206 rapes in 2011, an increase of 11.8 per cent upon 2007 figures of 20,737. Add to this 35,565 kidnappings and abductions of women and girls, 42,968 molestations and 8,570 cases of sexual harassment in 2011 and you will get the most horrible picture of sexual depravation in India. Unfortunately, our judicial system has failed to cope with the sex related crimes. The slow pace of criminal justice delivery, irresponsible attitude of police department and apathy of society are the aggravating factors. This has emboldened some rapists to the extent that we come across scores of cases in which the rapists have committed this heinous crime even in broad daylight, in moving vehicles, on the roads of cities, thus throwing an open challenge to society and its norms.
One basic factor, which is contributing immensely to the promotion of sexual licentiousness in society, is freedom granted to consenting adults to do whatever they want by throwing to winds the time-tested and universally-accepted moral values promoted by all religions and especially endorsed by Islam. For fighting rape this erroneous concept must be challenged. Sex must be allowed within the secured walls of married life. It cannot be allowed as it has been permitted to animals.
Our films, literature, magazines and easily available pornographic material are also contributing to the ever increasing mad sex rush. Teenagers and young people of both sexes are being hunted by predators as sitting ducks and sucked in by this vicious black hole of sexual anarchy. Nobody knows where this sex mania will take the society and how severely it would tarnish our social and moral fabric.
On the one hand a jihad should be waged against illicit and irresponsible sexual behaviour and on the other every effort should be made to stamp out harassment of women and its most heinous manifestation, rape. There cannot be any question of showing mercy to rapists and they should be given exemplary and severest possible punishments, including capital punishment. After all, chastity, honour and dignity are the most valuable possessions of a woman. No mercy to violators of this God-gifted dignity.