This is in response to your eye-opening report “Woman gang raped while house-hunting, seven arrested, sent to PC till Nov 4” (November 2). One would find that the scenario for women seems grim indeed and this will continue so long as the basic social and economic structures remain unchanged and the implementing and law and order agencies show indifference. Public display of big hoardings only serves to excite the young minds. Laws alone cannot put an end to evils that are endemic in the social structure; the government can at least make some attempt to take its own enactments seriously. Crime is endemic to the human condition, but a crime specifically directed at one sex is most despicable and unfortunately, the one that is punished least. According to the Government statistics twenty five rapes are committed in the country everyday but the unofficial record is in very large number. One would find that rape is a sexual as well as cultural attack which has become a great social problem today. There are many rape cases which have grabbed headlines but the timely actions are not taken. One should see that by awarding a deterrent punishment to the rapist this evil of rape would not be solved. Once it is proved that the person is guilty of rape he should be hanged and the women for their self-defense should learn the art of Karate, Judo and if not they should keep a chilly powder in order to escape from the rapist.
Vinod C. Dixit
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
