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Think American Politicians Say Crazy Things About Rape? Then You Haven't Been to India.
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| Contributor | 411 Name Removed |
| Last Edited | 411 Name Removed Oct 27, 2012 01:11pm |
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| Category | News |
| Author | Jen Swanson |
| News Date | Saturday, October 27, 2012 07:10:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description |
Earlier this fall, what can only be described as a raping spree broke out across the north Indian state of Haryana, claiming nearly 20 young women and girls, including a 6-year-old and a mentally handicapped 13-year-old, as victims in separate incidents. But almost as horrifying as the crimes themselves were the reactions of state police and politicians who, grappling to explain the outbreak of sexual violence, offered a set of truly bizarre viewpoints that make Richard Mourdock and Todd Akin look benign.
Haryana’s chief minister (like a governor), shamed by negative media coverage, suggested the rapes might be part of an overarching conspiracy to make his government look bad. Naturally, the director of police, who had so far failed to nab many of the suspects, agreed. Then a third politician, district spokesman Dharambir Goyat, suggested that everyone just calm down, since 90 percent of rapes are consensual anyhow (a widely held belief in some parts of rural India). Meanwhile, the number of victims continued to grow and the criminals continued to run free. One of the girls who had allegedly been raped doused herself with kerosene and lit a match; another victim's father committed suicide after seeing a video of his daughter's molestation. When the police finally mobilized, it was to strike down a group of peaceful demonstrators who had assembled to protest the government's inaction, sending five of them, including three women, to the hospital.
The khap panchayat, an unelected board of all-male, white-haired tribal elders that holds significant sway in the villages (think 100 turbaned Pat Robertsons on steroids), decided to get involved. The real problem, they said, is child marriage, or the lack thereof; if the minimum marriageable age (currently 18 for girls and 21 for boys) was lowered to 15 or 16, they reasoned, unmarried boys wouldn't feel compelled to take out their sexual frustration on girls. |
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