Students want life term or death penalty for rapists
During a session in LU in the runup to HT Woman Awards, the participants advocated the harshest of punishments, including castration, for rapists
LUCKNOW: In spite of stricter rape laws and better provisions for women’s security, there is no let-up in crime against the fair sex . A large number of educated youngsters here feel only quick convictions and the strictest possible punishment, that is death penalty, can strike fear in the minds of criminals and act as a deterrent.
In the run-up to the eighth edition of HT Woman Awards, an intriguing debate session was organised by the newspaper in the department of English and Modern European Languages, Lucknow University , in which students put forth their views on what should be the punishment for rape convicts.
It appeared that for LU students , rape is a bigger crime than murder . Life imprisonment or death should be the punishment for a rapist, they said.
“The kind of pain a person goes through when raped can never be expressed in terms of how a rapist must be punished. It destroys the victim both physically, mentally and emotionally. As for punishment, in my opinion different situations deserve different punishments,” said Ravish Fatima, a BA English Honours final year student.
She said, “Brutal rapes warrant the harshest punishment like castration following life term imprisonment. Rapists should be castrated under sedation and then should get a life term. If the victim dies due to the rape, the rapist should be castrated and then handed over to a mob for some time before being given a death sentence.”
Fatima said, “Also, the victim (if alive) should be able to decide what punishment she considers fit for the rapist. If the victim demands the rapist to be hanged, the wish should be fulfilled”. However, she said the rapist must be given the severest punishment because his/her act showed his/her fearlessness towards law.
Her classmate, Ayesha Rahman, said her proposition rested on two factors : the qualification of the rapist and the age of the victim. “If the rapist is qualified then he should be imprisoned till death. On the contrary, if the rapist is uneducated and belongs to the labourer class, then he should be imprisoned for ten years and must be exposed to rehabilitation therapy,” she said.
Ayesha argued if the victim was a minor , the rapist should be permanently castrated .
“If the victim is a teenager and above, then the rapist should be electrocuted initially. The intensity of the electric shocks should equal the brutality of the rape as decided by the judge. If the victim does not survive the rape, irrespective of any factor the rapist must receive capital punishment,” she said.
Diksha Srivastava, another student of Lucknow University said, “A crime as heinous as rape demands great attention from the government as well as the society. The extent of mental degradation has broken barriers and a flexible attitude will never restore the situation back to normal. The law needs to change with this paramount call.”
She said, “The punishment should be rigid even if capital punishment is not given. . The intensity of pain that a girl aged 6 months, 2 years, 5 years, 11 years, 21 years or above faces is way beyond imagination and the culprit behind that pain should not be forgiven . Whether literate or illiterate, both sections cannot be pardoned but the extent of their retribution varies.”
According to Diksha, if a person who is illiterate or is not of high standing commits this crime, then he should be starved to death (slowly and painfully). If an intellectual or one who holds a representable position is society does this, then he should be electrocuted and starved to death. “There can be many punishments with varying degrees but if only this idea is achieved then I can dream of a better law that is even more welcoming and head-on for combatting rape issues,” she said.
Yet another girl, Priya Singh said accurate punishment for a rapist could be to make him feel as humiliated as the victim. “The way a rape victim suffers humiliation and the society refuses to accept her, the accused should be doomed as well.. A rapist should be imprisoned for life with no scope of release,” she said.
Adeeba Aslam argued there should be death penalty for rape, as there was no guarantee rape won’t happen again.
Rohit Kumar, another student, said the quantum of punishment awarded should depend on the severity of the crime.
“Although outraging the modesty of any woman deserves the highest punishment but then, awarding death sentence in every case may not be justified. A sentence of life imprisonment should be awarded in cases that involve only rape. But at the same time there are cases that involve brutal murders or even minor girls and in such instances the quantum should be the highest to the extent of death sentence,” he said.
Rohit said many might argue for ‘capital punishment’ being unjustified, but this was what was needed .
“The punishment awarded to any convict should remain the same, irrespective of his profession because law stands equal for everyone in a democratic country and classification of punishment according to profession may just end up complicating the judicial working and hence a delay in justice to the victim,” he said.
For Mahima Singh, rape is something beyond forgiveness. “A brutal rape should invite a more brutal punishment. It can vary from life sentence to hanging, public stoning or castration plus death ,” she said.
Priya Dixit also advocated a stringent punishment . “There should be harsh legislation for rapists so that a person thinks twice before committing such an offence. If it is proved that a man has committed rape he should be imprisoned for life. If not for life then for a minimum of 35-40 years,” she said.
According to Ahana Sid, rape a rapist should be hanged till death. She said he should not be given a lesser punishment. “They should not in any case be freed from imprisonment as they can again spoil the life of someone else. Capital punishment should be given to every rapist,” she said.
“Women have waged a long war to free themselves from confinement and torture. Now, when they have achieved their right to breathe in open air acts like rape send them back to a condition where they feel like they can’t start again,” said another student, Atijya Basumata.