Hang women for sex outside marriage: Abu Azmi
Any woman who has sex outside marriage, even if she is a rape victim, should be hanged, said the Samajwadi Party’s (SP) Maharashtra chief Abu Azmi on Friday.
“If any woman, married or unmarried, goes along with a man, with or without her consent, she should be hanged. It shouldn’t be allowed even if a woman goes by consent,” Azmi said in an interview, when asked for a solution to end rapes.
Invoking Islam to justify his stand, Azmi said, “Rape is punishable by hanging in Islam. But here, nothing happens to women, only to men. Even the woman is guilty.” A day after party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s shocking statement that “boys make mistakes but shouldn’t be hanged (for rape)”, Azmi also blamed live-in relationships for the rise in rape cases. “These people live together for two or three years and when their relationship is strained, the guy is charged with rape. The punishment for rape is stringent and both should be stoned.”
This isn’t the first time Azmi has made such statements. After the 2012 Delhi gang rape, he had said women should not roam around with men other than their relatives and blamed scantilyclad women for such incidents.
Mulayam, on his part, stuck to his stand on Friday, blaming the media for “spoiling his image”. He said, “The issues I have raised are valid. It will trigger a debate over death penalty to rapists.” He added that the law would be misused if rape convicts were hanged.
His son, UP CM Akhilesh Yadav, on the other hand, sought to do some damage control by saying rapists should be given the harshest punishment.
Feigning ignorance of Mulayam’s remarks, he said, “Our leader and party advocate the harshest action against rapists.”
Azmi’s comments caused outrage with his own son, Farhan, and daughter-in law, Ayesha Takia, coming out strongly against them.
“If what I am reading about my father-in-law’s statements are true, then Farhan and me are deeply embarrassed and ashamed. We do not share this mindset, it’s disrespectful to women, and if these statements are true, then it’s sad,” the actress tweeted.
Farhan, the SP candidate from Mumbai North Central, called the statement objectionable and embarrassing. “As far as we are concerned, we are for capital punishment for rapists and if need be, I am ready to carry out the job of the jallad (executioner), ”he said.
The BJP called for a boycott of SP candidates across the state. “Our party will start a campaign asking voters to defeat SP candidates who have no respect for women,” said party leader Shaina NC.
The Maharashtra State Women’s Commission also issued a show cause notice to Azmi.
The SP has been in damage control mode since Thursday with par ty spokesperson Abdul Kadir Chaudhary blaming the media. “The sole aim of such misinformation by vested interests is to cause electoral damage to SP,” said Chaudhary. Citing former dacoit Phoolan Devi, who was an SP MP, he said the party stood for empowerment of women.