The Indians I have met and befriended are very gentle, compassionate, intelligent and amiable people. The India general public are seeking that if found guilty of rape that men will be hanged. This is borne out of anger at the death of a medical student from the injuries sustained from a horrific gang rape. There is the danger that this could spur the killing on the basis of an eye for an eye. I think anyone who rapes and murders a woman should be hanged because when released from prison there is always the fear that they will strike again. There is the additional danger of mistaken identity, and also weak or circumstantial evidence which may mean an innocent person get to suffer the full rigours’ of the law via being hanged. There would have to be checks and balances to ensure that the perpetrator of the crime is identified without a shadow of a doubt. I think the punishment should fit the crime. If these men are found guilty of rape and murder, I think, yes they should be hanged. They gang raped her and caused extreme internal injury i.e. so much so that the iron bar reached her intestine. If capital punishment comes to pass it will be a stark and fierce message in India that the rape and murder of women will not be tolerated. From the point of view of the Indian people and the father of the murdered girl they are looking for radical changes to their justice system.
I have had conversations with my Indian colleagues who sympathise with the girl and also her bereaved family however, ask ‘what was she doing waiting for a bus at that time of night?’Which begs the question, is it her fault that she was in the wrong place at the wrong time? In reality we all know, even here in Ireland that at night there are certain places where women will not walk because of a fear of being attacked. It is my belief that women should be able to walk in day or night without dreading any serious consequences to their health and wellbeing.
In India it is proposed that a special telephone number will be set up for women in the event of an attack in which any woman may dial and seek assistance from the local police. Saudia Arabia does capital punishment to the extreme, they hang women for having affairs, theft etc. I have heard an Indian colleague say ‘well if we do not have justice here why not send the rapists to Saudai’
One thing is certain; it is a necessity to keep women unharmed from rapists and sadists. They may rape again and cause untold damage and destruction of lives. I do not think there is any hope for the rapist as I have never heard of a course of action that would “cure” what ails them. There are consequences for our actions. There are right and wrong choices to be made whilst also protecting individual choice and preserving people’s safety.