By S. Ameenul Hasan
(National vice-president, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind)
NEW DELHI: The heinous rape and murder of a 31-year-old post-graduate intern doctor in a reputed medical college in Kolkata has once focussed the attention of society towards women’s safety in India. The woman medico was brutally assaulted sexually and then murdered on August 9, 2024. The details of the gory incident highlighted by the media deeply affected many across the nation, sparking a call for justice and legal reform.
This incident has raised significant concerns, particularly because Kolkata was considered one of the safest cities for women in India. This horrible incident has thrown many questions regarding the safety of women in India.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau(NCRB), over 4,45,000 crimes against women were reported in India in 2022, with more than 31,000 cases of sexual assault alone. As these figures are quite alarming, they emphasize the need for a consistent focus on women’s safety not only by law and order maintaining agencies but by members of the public as well.
According to 2018 statistics, as many as 3,38,000 crime cases against women were registered, with 10 percent involving incidents of rape.
According to NCRB analysis of the cases, 94 rape cases were reported daily in India in 2018. These numbers indicate how unsafe and vulnerable women find themselves in India.
S. Ameeenul Hasan, National vice-president, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind
What is most regrettable is that 25 percent rape victims are children. Another matter of great concern is that 94 percent of the crimes against women are committed by those acquainted with the victims.
The high incidence of crimes against women has ranked India at ninth position among nations that are most unsafe for women.
While medicos all over the country were observing strikes demanding action against the culprits involved in the brutal sexual assault and murder of the Kolkata doctor, two innocent girls, aged four and five, were sexually assaulted in Badlapur town of Maharashtra, indicating that there is no fear of law among the criminals.
The government report says that only 12 percent of child abuse cases are reported to the police. The report says that the parents do not come forward to lodge the cases because of the stigma associated with sexual crimes.
While the laws to curb crime against women have been amended to deal strictly with the culprits, the incidents of violence against women are steadily increasing. The 2022 report indicates a 20 percent rise in sexual crimes compared to 2021.
If we analyze the situation, we find that one of the contributors to the rise in crime against women is society’s silence.
When 94 incidents of rape occur daily and society remains silent, it only encourages the perpetrators.
It is also regrettable that when a female doctor is victimized, only the medical community protests; when a Dalit woman is targeted, only the Dalit community raises its voice; and when a Muslim woman is assaulted, the Muslim community protests softly. No other group stands with any of them.
This indicates that we have even divided serious crimes against humanity by religion, caste, and profession. This is very unfortunate.
What is important is that every section of society should rise collectively whenever there is any assault on the dignity of women, irrespective of the victim’s caste, community, or faith.
It encourages the perpetrators of the crime when only the victim’s community demands justice by organizing democratic protests for such protests simply evaporate after a few days or few weeks, without getting adequate justice or no justice at all. This communalizes the protest or movement for seeking justice.
The urgent need is that the people must stand collectively against such crimes sending a strong message to the perpetrators that no injustice will be tolerated irrespective of the identity of the victim.
Stern punishment needed for sexual assault crimes: An Islamic Perspective
Taking suo motu cognizance of the Kolkata incident, the Supreme Court has formed a national task force(NTF) directing it to recommend comprehensive measures to ensure the protection of medical professionals.
Among various recommendations, NTF has been assigned to suggest is about enhancing security within hospitals, segregating restrooms for male and female doctors, implementing effective security measures through the use of technology, restricting access to all areas within the hospital, providing transportation facilities during night time, reviewing safety protocols every three months, and ensuring the presence of police within the hospital premises.
Justice (retd) Verma Committee had made several recommendations in law to deal with the criminals involved in heinous sexual assault cases post-Nibhaya incident in Delhi in December 2012.
As a consequence, four accused in the Nirbhaya case were hanged to death in March 2020. Subsequently, there was increasing demand from the public for capital punishment for rapists.
Because of awareness created about the need for capital punishment, many political leaders and government officials began advocating for harsh penalties, for adultery and sexual assault cases after the Nirbhaya incident.
Islam prescribes severe punishments for grave crimes, including rape. While these punishments may appear harsh, they are crucial for the prevention of crime and the maintenance of law and order in society.
The very purpose of harsh penalties is to use them as a means of deterrence by instilling a sense of fear among the criminals, not to create fear within society. From an Islamic perspective, these punishments are of utmost importance for bringing peace to society and ensuring justice. Their proper implementation is a guarantee of a strong and secure society.
Indian lawmakers accused of crimes against women
In a recent report prepared by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), as many as 16 sitting MPs and 135 sitting MLAs in their election affidavits have confessed that they are facing cases of crime against women registered against them, many of them charged with serious offences like rape, acid attack, outraging the modesty of women, etc.
The report is based on an examination of affidavits of 4,693 sitting MPs and MLAs between 2019 and 2024 in all 28 states and eight union territories.
This situation poses a grave threat not only to our democratic system but also to the rule of law.
When lawmakers themselves indulge in crimes, how can justice and peace be established in the country? How will ordinary citizens receive protection for their lives, property, and dignity under such circumstances?
It calls for an urgent need to reform our political system and keep those who violate the law out of Parliament to establish the rule of law in a true sense.
Intoxication of power adds to sexual crimes, how to curb it?
A psychological truth about Indian society is that when a person gains even a small amount of power—be it in the form of a khaki uniform or a minor position of authority in the administration—they become intoxicated by it. This intoxication blinds them, leading them to trample on women’s dignity, destroy homes, kill prisoners, desecrate bodies, and become lawbreakers rather than guardians of the law. This is a grave tragedy driven by deep-seated psychological factors.
This intoxication of power makes a person uncontrollable, and the only way to curb this intoxication is through the belief in the Hereafter and the belief in the Oneness of God (Tawheed). If he is made aware that even if gets scot-free in this world because of his position of authority, he will have to face the consequences of his crime in the Next World. This can, to a large extent, inculcate fear of God in him and will restrain him from misusing his authority to commit crimes.
Umar bin Abdul Aziz and the protection of a woman: A lesson for current rulers
During the caliphate of Umar bin Abdul Aziz, a woman complained about some thieves having jumped the boundary wall of her house and stolen her hen’s eggs.
The Caliph immediately acted on the complaint. The government staff found that the boundary wall made of mud was very low, making it easy for thieves to enter her house.
As the woman was poor, the Caliph raised the height of the wall to ensure that no one could easily scale and intrude into her house.
What Caliph Umar bin Abdul Aziz did, is a lesson for our modern-day rulers that the state must protect the life, property, and honour of its citizens.
Attitude of current rulers: Oppression of the weak and lack of justice
But the attitude of our current rulers in our country is different. Instead of protecting weaker sections, the government further victimizes victims which is quite evident from incidents of bulldozing of houses of those who take part in protests to demand justice. We all know how the rented house of the parents of a minor schoolboy in Rajasthan was demolished recently by the government authorities because the schoolboy, in a fit of rage, stabbed his classmate. While it should have been left to the judiciary to decide the punishment, the authorities assuming the role of a judge immediately pulled down the house of the boy’s parents because of their religion.
This situation indicates that the issue in our country is not just the protection of women’s dignity; rather, every weak section of society is being subjected to various forms of oppression. Individuals in uniforms, those holding administrative positions, and people sitting in seats of power, big and small, seem to have been given free rein to oppress the weak.
In this atmosphere of tyranny and oppression, the hope for justice has faded, and the rights of the vulnerable in society are being trampled upon.
Society’s duty to protect fundamental rights in the light of Sharia or Islamic laws
What should the public do in a situation occurring in the country as of now? While reforming themselves, the people should demand from the rulers, the administrators, and the judiciary to protect five fundamental rights: the right to life, the right to property, the right to honour/lineage, the right to intellect, and the right to protect religion.
Well-known 11th-century Islamic jurist Imam Ghazali says that the purpose of Shariah or the law in Islam is to protect these five rights of human beings. An action that safeguards these five things falls under the domain of public welfare and anything that threatens them amounts to corruption and must be removed in the larger interest of society.
A Message to Men
Keeping these fundamental rights guaranteed under Islamic law to every human being, it is vitally important that both men and women, whether Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, or anyone else belonging to any denomination, must necessarily work together to protect them.
Two Important Messages to Women
As crimes against women, particularly sexual assaults, are on the rise, Muslim women must join peaceful protests and demonstrations to demand harsh punishment for the accused and adequate justice for the victim no matter to which community the accused and victim belong. Even if it is not possible to organize or join big protest rallies, 10-15 women can hold silent protests with placards denouncing the particular crime outside their houses or at some prominent place in the localities where they live.
Undoubtedly, it is the responsibility of the state and society to protect the honour and chastity of women, but at the same time, women must accept that it is also their responsibility.
The misleading Western slogan “My Body, My Choice,” is a deception. Those who hold such views may keep their opinions. Islam teaches us that our will should be aligned with God’s will. My body is mine, but its use should be in accordance with God’s will; the wealth I earn is mine, but its expenditure should be in line with God’s will; my wife is mine, but I should treat her kindly as per God’s will; once a child is conceived, it is not solely the woman’s choice to abort it, but rather, it is God’s will that it not be killed either in the womb or after birth; my children are mine, but their upbringing should be according to God’s will; my body is mine, but my attire should be according to God’s will. This is the Islamic perspective.
Protection of Women’s Dignity: The Responsibility of the Individual and Society
While it is the sole responsibility of the government to keep society free from thieves, yet we keep our houses locked to ensure that no thief enters and burgles our houses. But if a woman says, “My house, my choice,” and then leaves the front gate open, it means she is inviting the thief to come to her house to commit the crime.
So a woman needs to take appropriate precautions whether to protect her house or her body. Every individual should take all possible measures for their protection and, at the same time, demand that society and the government fulfill their responsibilities. In this way, you will not only protect your rights and dignity but also contribute to the creation of a safe and honourable society.
