Dec 21, Kamayani Bali Mahabal
Shame on you TOI. Take down the Advertisement the Poll and apologize.
And you have kept barabaric options of bobbitization and chemical castration ?
TIMES OF INDIA YOU,YOU ALL HAVE LOST IT
“RAPE” IS NOT DEATH OF A WOMAN, THATS WHAT ALL OF YOU W ANT IT TO BE ?
ITS THE SOCIETY WHICH HAS ATTACHED THE SOCIAL STIGMA AND YOU ARE PERPETUATING IT PATHETIC !
Parliamentarians should shout for JUSTICE and Convictions , instead of saying things like ‘zinda lash’ (living corpse) and asking for death penalty.
Chemical castration breaches the physical intrinsity of the human body. As we have abolished physical penalties (chopping off hands, beatings etc), why would we re-introduce . Since castration is irreversible, should this penalty be allowed, especially as our judicial system has been proven to be wrong every now and then. And tell me how will it work ? you will have to give injections fo depo vera— every time a rape is committed, there will someone running behind the rapist on road to inject him ???
WITH THIS WHOLE CLAMOUR OF DEATH PENALTY, All the Politician sitting in our parliament are superficial people , the media wants more eyeballs and suddenly we have this knee jerk reaction to gang rape coming out in form of REVENGE and not JUSTICE. What a twisted logic is that capital punishment will be an effective deterrent to potential rapists. The quantum of punishment does not deter crime. In fact, the higher the punishment, the lower the conviction rate.is required is speedy trial. Ensure speedy trials. That would deter would-be rapists.
If rape and violence against women are not rare but occur within every class, and at a variety of junctures, making the offense itself almost ordinary by nature of its frequency of occurrences, then to accord the death penalty for such cases would simply reduce convictions .Before the death penalty get the convictions right.
The convictions against cases of violence against women, especially rape cases are themselves extremely complex and pivot around the nuanced issues of consent/force. It is never a simple and straightforward matter to determine whether the woman had consented. From the beginning? At what point otherwise? To what extent was she willing to have physical relations with a man? But at which point did it become force or coercion? The entire issue of violence against women is not easily amenable to legalistic jargon that makes claims to truth “based on a binary logic which sets up oppositions like truth/untruth, guilt/innocence, consent/non-consent. This binary logic is completely inappropriate to… the ambiguity of rape.
Women’s bodies as the new reason to kill ?
The point is “Death Penalty” to rapists is a reinforcement of the same “honour-shame” syndrome. Moreover why will the rapist not get rid of all possible evidence, which might take him towards death penalty? Yes, I mean why will he not kill the rape survivor in the end of the day? Moreover why should we go by the Sexual Hierarchy set by our patriarchal society? A sexual assault is a sexual assault and can’t be judged by the parameters of “penetration” alone. A Trauma is a trauma and can’t be judged by the parameters of “Honour” and “Shame”. In the end no woman loses her “honour” when she is raped. She loses it when she allows her mind to believe it.
The ideological underpinnings of the demand for the death penalty for rape reflect the traditional patriarchal and reactionary view of women as property. Rape is seen not as an assault on the integrity of the women as assaulted, but far more as an assault of the community, of society, of the nation.The demand for death penalty hides certain power relations and assumptions made by those advocating the death penalty. Furthermore, they point to the fact that bringing in the death penalty for rape will not in anyway increase convictions, but may lower the already very low-levels of convictions because of fear to convict any rapist incase of error.
The death penalty weighs the scales of justice heavily in favour of the state by giving the state legally sanctioned power over the life and death of its citizens. Such power all too often is used arbitrarily; it is applied neither uniformly nor fairly, even in cases of the same nature and severity. In many cases, the decision to apply the death sentence is driven by issues other than the crime itself.
By playing to the desire for revenge in individual cases, states in which the death penalty is used ignore difficult questions about the relationship between crime, the criminal and the state. A fake sense of moral superiority is thus sustained as culpability is shifted from formal and informal social, political and economic structures of domination and oppression, solely to the accused.
Hence for me , a FEMINIST , these promises of security, better safety and liberty have been questionable and problematic. It hides the strong link between justice and the state and how justice may operate to benefit certain parties only. The use of women’s bodies and the category of violence against women to insist on the death penalty is a manipulation of the feminist agenda and its concern for women into a tool by others (including but not exclusively the state) to control and discipline its citizens further.
As suggested by Foucault, the prison itself maybe a new way of ordering society, of disciplining it and creating new forms of docile bodies constituted in such a way as to make the power of the state and certain groups more effective. It is important then to rethink forms of correction and punishment to ensure that those convicted of crimes are not merely placed in another institution in which power is even more insidious than even the death penalty or public executions.
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kracktivist 
Dec 21, 2012 @ 14:11:59
Atleast someone thinks different from the so called radical thinkers of today… Respect.
Dec 21, 2012 @ 15:43:02
yes i agree with you times of india is leading a dangerous capaign for the print and electronic corporate controlled media human tragedy is a spectacle for mass comsupmtion what is dangerous about toi campaign is it depoliticises vloilence against women reducing it into a mere law and order problem the answer is not castration or death penaly but wider challenges like the entrenched power relationships and the structral relation between feudalism patriarchy brahminism and capitalism and the real answer to this is the struggle of women against this structural constraints
Dec 22, 2012 @ 00:17:21
Bring the change, For the future of generation of our sister,mother,wife,daughter.
I oppose chemical castration ,life time impriosment for Rape.I support Bobbitization & Life sentenced to hang till death but to kill different way like a sweet poison .
I SUGGEST ANYONE RAPE OUR SISTER —-1)CAUGHT THE ACCUSED BY THE PUBLIC OR POLICE.
2.)TAKE IRON ROD AND MAKE GIRL NAME AND PLACE SHE BELONGS.
3.) HEAT THE ROD LIKE RED BRICKS.
4.) TOUCH ALL PART OF THE BODY AFTER SOME GAP WITHIN 20 MIN .
5.)EVERY TIME RODS BECOMES RED,THAN FINALLY TOUCH PENIS AND NOT LEAST RECTAL ANAL
6.) CUT THE PENIS WITH SCROTUM
7.)HANG TILL DEATH.
I HOPE THIS CAN FOLLOW.WHOLE INDIA SAFE AND FREE FOR RAPE. NO ONE TRY TO ATTEMPPT WITH ANY AGE GROUP OF GIRLS.
INKALAB ZINDABAD…………………HALABOL………………………..
Dec 22, 2012 @ 12:54:55
this is sick i dont know what to say
Dec 22, 2012 @ 14:19:42
Dear Author, I understand your point and your different perspective. But I would also like you to read cases like soni suri, Manorama Devi, present Delhi Rape case. Even such uproar about the Delhi Rape Case it has not deterred the RAPISTS or maniacs. Kindly read the news about “A 3 yr old girl being raped in play school” just after the delhi rape case. The incident is among the eight cases of rape reported in the city between Sunday and Thursday. The other cases were reported from Sonia Vihar, New Friends Colony, Kalkaji, Turkman Gate, New Ashok Nagar, among other areas just in New Delhi. Now think about the ones reported in cities all over India. I hope u must have not forgotten the case of baby Falak. Now you suggest me when u read such cases do you still feel the same that bringing in death penalty would do nothing? I know castration is inhuman but i think its time to be inhuman wen there is crazy increase in number of such inhuman and heinous crimes. I understand it wont stop or curb the problem totally but I am sure it shall be a good lesson for the ones who commit such gory and barbaric crimes. At least in rare cases .
Dec 22, 2012 @ 17:27:24
So you don’t care if women get raped??
We need an example for fools who commit such henious crimes, so that others think a 1000 times before doing any such thing.
They should be castrated. No deaths. Death is useless, painless. Shame, public humiliation for life – That is what will fix such suckers. They must know how it feels to be helpless.
If they can be inhuman, why can’t we be barbarian??
Dec 24, 2012 @ 10:21:44
exactly we cant be barbarian then whats the difference between perpetrators and protectors, the line is blurring, its not about REVENGE but about Justice
Dec 22, 2012 @ 20:53:05
Times of India is right in suggesting these options as punishment for rapists. It is not the STIGMA that WE attach by saying dat d victim is now a living corpse….. It is a fact!!!! What is next?? She will have to be fed intravenously, she can never lead a NORMAL life again…. Moreover her intestines have been removed… The victim has got a life term while we r still debating about what punishment shd be given to the bloody barbarians….. In India we worship goddesses but real women r treated worse than bitches…. And even u noe it Is a FACT… I dnt noe whether u r a human rights activist or whatever…. But it is not a mere manipulation of d feminist agenda dat v r insisting death penalty…. I dont demand death sentence, but something worse than that…. And also speaking about reintroducing the physical penalties, how the 23 year old was raped, it is also a physical penalty… If u consider castration & bobbitisation a physical penalty den wat is RAPE to u?? Now is not d time for saying dat ” demand stronger convictions & justice” bcos if we rely on r law, sm action wd have been taken but I dnt c any politician or for that matter d PRIME MINISTER even concerned abt d issue. What if it was ur sister daughter wife or for dat matter HOW WD Y FEEL IF UR GANGRENOUS INTESTINE WAS REMOVED ???????
Dec 23, 2012 @ 00:07:59
Forget gangrenous inetsntine removed , if i am raped i would still not ask for death penalty for rapist period !
Dec 24, 2012 @ 09:52:41
The lady is a psycho it seems . Waiting and inviting a rape by luring rapists that she will not ask for capital punishment if they rape her. Pls help her wild imagination by pleasing Ms mahabal . Such ladies are the ones who send out wrong signals
Dec 24, 2012 @ 10:27:32
hahahahah sure i am a psycho, that’s what my intro says u did nit read ? S is, teh society laying so much emphasis on woman’s body AS property and honour? also death epnaltyw ill not be deterrant the fact is that cases of rape have a conviction rate of as low as 26% shows that perpetrators of sexual violence enjoy a high degree of impunity, including being freed of charges.h. Death penalty is often used to distract attention away from the real issue – it changes nothing but becomes a tool in the hands of the State to further exert its power over its citizens. A huge set of changes are required in the system to end the widespread and daily culture of rape.The logic of awarding death penalty to rapists is based on the belief that rape is a fate worse than death. Patriarchal notions of ‘honour’ lead us to believe that rape is the worst thing that can happen to a woman. There is a need to strongly challenge this stereotype of the ‘destroyed’ woman who loses her honour and who has no place in society after she’s been sexually assaulted.
Jan 05, 2013 @ 15:19:31
I really agree to your point. The ‘honour’ associated with chastity is why most people like to agree that rape is worse that death. Social acceptance of victims and rejection of criminals themselves should deter the crime. That said, I don’t feel a law can stop crimes. It will change the nature of crime. If the law is too lenient, more such crimes will surface. If the law is too harsh, I feel the crimes may be far in between but will be more gruesome since the criminal has nothing more to lose. That is of course assuming that law will act upon in the situations. Again these are my opinions.
To Mr/Ms S, I believed that we lived in a democracy (please note “believed” because my notions are currently shaken). So Ms Mahabal has full right to present her views. You, sir/mam are not upholding democracy by calling someone a psycho.
Dec 24, 2012 @ 15:32:32
NIce Article, with a balanced outlook on the truth. Of late i have been witnessing a kind of unwholesome awareness about the issues in our society, like Jan Lokpal, Rape cases etc. Blame it on your holy bibles, “Times of India” (newspaper with highest readership in India) and “Facebook” (Most popular website in world). Your sources of information more often than not provide a very lopsided picture of a story. And the mass just tries to copy someone they believe would be telling truth without checking any further. These uneducated, illiterate people have got no interest in the issue itself but being popular and flaunting on Facebook that they were associated with the story, just to act morally correct. Wow, and now even Times of India has got a feature of crowning you by placing those comments. Kudos!!!
Think before you join any activism or cause and have a clear picture about the outcome. A foolish Egyptian activism has already begun the process of plunging the country into a Sharia and Mullah ruled country. Don’t have these biased notions based on what people from all these civil societies say, and have your own thinking process.
Now about the issue raised in the article, those people who are for the Capital Punishment (Death Penalty) keep on asking questions, whether you have been through a rape? Do you know how it feels? Well a piece of mind for them, Have you had death? Or for that matter have you even been castrated?
By supporting to have more laws we are just trying to invite more limits for us and sadistic pleasure for politicians, who have got some other issues to focus than Indian Economy.
Start thinking objectively, my Intelligent countrymen.
Jan 05, 2013 @ 00:24:55
Well put… what we need is better policing, through investigations that stand as evidence in court and fast track courts to try cases related to sexual crimes. At the foremost, the male dominant attitude needs to change…
Jan 10, 2013 @ 12:11:10
Hey you gross stupid. Would you stand on the roof top and ask for pardon to the sinners when your mother, sisters and daughter raped and instestine removed barbarically?? Would you still continue to say that their honour is not dented and they have not suffered trauma unless they think that way. No one would be so inciting as you. You should be the first one to be hanged before those criminals so that supporters of such beasts are first removed from the society
Mar 10, 2013 @ 12:31:02
Dear Author,
I agree with a bit of what you have written, but with the number of cases increasing alarmingly, and one following the other what punishment do you think is suitable enough? Two moth old girls, new born’s, infants are raped so frequently, girls are raped by neighbors. Tell me, hasn’t this two month old girl lost her state of being honored, you think she will feel honored even if by any chance she allows herself to believe it? Yes it much depends upon the state of mind, and what she allows herself to believe. But what can she believe in anymore? You know what you are saying,Its like an idea with no basis in reality. How will she ever come to terms with life, Her believing she is honorable would drive her insane as she could never come to terms with reality. Yes, death sentence would induce the rapist to kill the girl after she is raped. And maybe this policy is more flawed than any other.But what problem do u think is there with bobbitization or chemical castration? The people committing such crimes are inhuman, they are harmful. More and more people are committing such crimes due to the in-austere laws abiding in India.
You know this girl raped in playschool has changed her place of residence 4 times, and now his rapist is out of jail as his years in jail have been completed. This girl lives in trauma and has not been able to sleep when she got to know he is out again. So basically, she lives in constant fear as after being raped the rapist told her that if u tell anyone i will kill u.
The society hasnt accepted her and watch her with prying eyes. These men need to be bobbitized,AND NO PEOPLE WILL NOT RUN AFTER THE RAPISTS TO BE INJECTED. i HOPE WHEN U WROTE THAT NO PUN WAS INTENDED FOR IT IS SAID IN POOR TASTE.
They can be imprisoned for life, or for 7 years( as per the current law) and before being released be bobbitized. I respect your way of thinking, it is different and logical yet extreme and seems irrevocable.
Aug 26, 2013 @ 20:34:43
It is not only about punshing the rapists but also to create a sense of fear in the mind of every citizen, so that they would think 100 times before they commit such cruel act. TOI is right. N dear author reading your article i feel that rape of a women isnt a big matter for you. But it is more than a crime…!
Dec 28, 2013 @ 22:22:25
I totally agree you! These people have lost their mind they do not want justice they just want revenge. They are the moral terrorist and want to impose ‘taliban’ type of punishments which is barbaric and pathetic.