The Supreme Court of India recently observed, “The primary concern at both the national and international levels is about the devastating increase in rape cases and cases relating to crime against women in the world.”
The Division Bench of Justices P. Sathasivam and Ranjan Gogoi, while sentencing a rape and murder convict to jail for 30 years, further noted, “India is no exception to it,” and that, “legislature has expressed its intent to deal with crimes against women and sexual assaults sternly by providing for stringent punishment….”
India’s National Crime Records Bureau recorded 24,206 reported rape cases in the country in 2011. Alone in Haryana State 725 women were raped during the year, an average of 2 cases every day. Figures of other States are almost the same. The states with the highest incidence of rape are Mizoram, Tripura and Assam. Higher incidence could also be a reflection of better reporting of cases. The more patriarchal society, the greater the social stigma and the lesser is the chance of reporting. Unfortunately, in Indian feudal society sexual harassment of women is so rampant that most women absorb the shock without telling even to close relatives. If someone dares to complain, she is discouraged even by her close family members out of shame. Even more shocking trend in villages is reported when the victim herself begs the rapist to keep the incident a secret. An analyst has rightly noted, “Only a few women in India ever report rape cases due to the lack of support, but more so the shame they face by going public.” Another reason, as pointed out by a political leader of Haryana, is equally strong. Many women are caught in the web when they willingly walk in and get trapped.
In recent years, courts sternly pronounced sentences in rape cases but the menace had refused to die down. All types of rapes are recurring; rape with minor, with infants, abduction and gang-rape, rape and murder, rape and blackmailing by making MMSs, etc. The victim may belong to any section of society, however cases in the media reported only in extreme cases as abduction and gang-rape, rape of a minor, murder after the crime or suicide by the victim if the victim belongs to one section of the society and the rapist to another. But truth is that rapists do not see the class, cast, age or even relation with, and victimise anyone to satisfy his sexual desire. In a recent case an elderly man with several children targeted his own infant daughter and killed her after the crime. So analyses of rape cases on account of cast and class are ill-founded.
WHY THIS MENACE?
Many reasons are cited by socialists and politicians of this trend. In New York Times (October 16), Neha Thirani and Heather Timmons have tried to search the answer of this big “Why” from the answers of concerned people especially in respect of Haryana State. Answers are tabled under the sub heads – (a) The powerful are trying to dominate the powerless. (b) The uneducated ‘new rich’ are asserting their feudal privileges. (c) The Government lets them get away with it and the failure of the State to implement laws. Need to send a strong message that people who commit atrocities against women will not be spared. (d) Rape is used as a weapon in caste conflict. (e) Intellectual development isn’t keeping up with economic progress. (e) When young men and women mingle in public, this is one result. The chief minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, said that rape is on the rise because men and women interact more freely now. She noted, “Earlier if men and women would hold hands, they would get caught by parents and reprimanded, but now everything is so open. It’s like an open market with open options,” she said. (f) Television and the movies are making women more sexual. Following a shocking incident in which a teenage girl committed suicide after being raped by three persons, Sube Singh, a village council member, said, “I believe this is happening because our youth are being badly influenced by cinema and television.” He also suggested, “Girls should be married at the age of 16, so that they have their husbands for their sexual needs, and they don’t need to go elsewhere.” (g) Dharambir Goyat, a political leader thinks, “In 90 per cent cases young girls want to have sex intentionally but they don’t know that they would be gang-raped further as they find some lusty and pervasive people in the way ahead.”
PARTIAL TRUTH
Certainly all these factors have a role in abetting the sex crime. But none of them is the root cause of rise in the rape. And the cause lies elsewhere. In the societies where rape is rampant, there is no curb on the lust to have sex without marriage. On the contrary in the societies where sex is permitted only in married pairs, lust and desire of sexual activity with “anybody” is well controlled. For example, in 2008 Egypt, a moderate Muslim society, only 0.1 case of rape per 100,000 people were reported while in the UK one of every two hundred women suffered from rape in 2007. While in the U.S. one of six women has experienced an attempted or completed rape.[More than a quarter of college age women report having experienced a rape or rape attempt since age 14.
WHERE LIES THE ERROR
Faulty definition of Human Rights gives liberty to a person for sexual activity with anybody of his/her choice provided both are agreed. This liberty opens the door of temptation and attempt to satisfy the lust of sex. Earlier, even President of US and Chairman of World Bank were caught tempted. Ironically, when then US President Bill Clinton was found guilty of having sexual relations with his 22-year-old White House intern, Monica Lewinsky in 1998, he was not impeached for extra-marital sex but for perjury (deceiving his wife) and lying to the nation.
This mindset is prevailing all over the world. And the same criterion is used in defining rape in law books. Broadly speaking, rape is an activity for sexual pleasure with another person without his/her consent. Same activity, by consent becomes non-crime and this wide-opens the doors for crime against women. Lust of sex lures a woman and when urge becomes un-controllable, dictum of coercion overtakes need of consent. What is needed is to curb the urge to have sex with “anybody” and this is what the Qur’ān has ordained by saying, “la taqrabuz-zina” meaning, “do not go near to fornication. Verily it is an abominable crime and an evil way.”(Asra). At another place the Qur’ān says, “Direct the believing men they should cast down their gaze and guard their private parts. That will be more righteous for them.”(Noor)
The same has been explained by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him): “Allah has decreed for the son of Adam his share of zina, which will inevitably catch up with him, and the zina of the eyes is looking, the zina of the tongue is speaking; the heart wishes and hopes and the private parts confirm that or deny it.” (al-Bukhari).
In film Baghban starring Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini, when a girl resists advancement of his boy friend, he retorted saying, “First you girls ignite fire by wearing half naked clothes and then play pious.” Here is a point to underline. Dress plays a role to instigate. To keep fit and look decent is desirable but to display private curves is bound to invite bad attention. Our “concern” about the “devastating increase” in “crime against women” demands to strike at the root causes and mega steps without shying for distancing away from the “trends” in “advanced” societies, which are sinking fast in nakedness, alcohol and sex. Our old age tested ethos provides best model to protect women from sex crimes.
Depiction of sexually explicit material on TV and cinema screens has only polluted the society. Stress to punish the errant will not serve until we turn to our roots. Our learned courts may be instrumental in guiding the society and directing the State to amend laws in a way that flow of immorality may be contained. Lawmakers should also keep abreast of sanctity and dignity of our women and deny following dictates and directives of international bodies which are pushing the society to sexual anarchy. Mamta has rightly said, free mixing up must be avoided, also the dress which “ignites fire.”