Catch Them Young, Teach Them Respect for Women
The Hindu : Opinion / Open Page : Catch Them Young, Teach Them Respect for Women
A disgusting event has had a tragic end. The nation hangs its head in shame over the trauma and death of a 23-year-old woman so brutally gang-raped and beaten to pulp. As politicians and law enforcement officials mull over the next step, the larger India must ask itself a simple question — are we going to allow this disgust to continue and tragically so?
Some are calling for instant justice — take the rapists out, hang them and then ask questions. But the most sober in society are calling naturally for tougher laws that mandate the death penalty for a convicted offender. The temptation for quick retribution — the lynch mob style — should not take away or ignore the fact that as the world’s largest democracy, we are a nation of laws, however slow justice may be delivered. That sets us apart from banana republics.
INEXPLICABLE TERMS
What took place in Delhi was horrific and the reaction in the capital city and in the rest of the nation was almost spontaneous. The force of the protests was such that the media started “reporting” rapes from the four corners of India, making the point that what took place in Delhi is what is taking place in India as a whole.
Reports pertaining to ‘rapes,’ ‘incest’ and any form of harassment were always silenced eventually due to the two terms that we generally use when we have no explanations — culture and politics.
