Rape is one of the fastest growing crimes in the world. Many incidents of rapes in different parts of Nepal make headlines every now and then. Recent rape incidents involved rapists ranging from 14-year-old boys to an old man of 76 years. They also consisted of a gang, teachers, relatives, and in one case, victim's own father.Recently a culprit raped a 14-year old girl in Lahan, Siraha, and forcefully fed her toilet cleaner so that she would not be able reveal the incident to anyone. According to Women's Rehabilitation Center (WOREC), the girl from Maubahi-2, Siraha, had been working at Rakesh Hotel and Lodge in Lahan Municipality for a year. She used to clean dishes. On April 25, she was allegedly raped by Binod Basnet, a resident of Dhangadi-2, who worked as a cook at the same hotel. After the incident, the survivor was hidden for 37 days and was not allowed to get in touch with her mother. The case was disclosed on June 10, when women human rights defenders in Siraha were informed about the incident by hospital authorities. Since the 35-day period was over, the incident was not registered by the police station as a rape case.
As a result, an attempt to murder case was filed and the victim was rushed to Dharan Hospital and then she was referred to Bir Hospital, Kathmandu, for treatment. Her treatment at Bir Hospital began from June 30, but she died on August 2 when she was supposed to be discharged from hospital the next day. The 14-year old girl was happy as her health condition was improving. The girl had asked for a wrist watch and a pair of pants. She had also asked to eat rice and mutton after getting discharged from hospital, but sadly she died without getting her wishes fulfilled.
The culprit did not let the girl see her relatives to reveal about the case till 35 days which is the time-limit for filing First Information Report against the alleged culprit to escape from being charged in rape case but after the death of the girl, FIR has been filed against Basnet for murder. Basnet has been arrested and kept in police custody.
The penalty for rape under Nepali legal system is currently based on the age of the victim and could range from anywhere between three to 10 years of imprisonment which is inappropriate and fails to discourage the criminal. Unlike in other countries where rapists are punished by death, Nepal needs to opt for chemical castration as punishment so that they would not be fit to commit such heinous crimes of raping a child or any girl or woman.
Saudi Arabia has the strictest form of punishment for rape. It is an Islamic country and all its laws and regulations are as per Islamic Sharia laws. If a person is found guilty of rape or any sexual assault he is beheaded in public. The body and the head is then stitched together and buried in a grave. The punishment is same for both men and women if they commit the crime. Also there is a provision for execution through stones. If a person commits rape stones are pelted at him until he dies. This death is not easy and quick but more painful, and the criminal has to suffer until he dies.
In China a rapist is awarded a death penalty. Capital punishment is given for committing a rape by firing a bullet at the spinal cord, below neck, leading to death. The execution rates are way too high here. Prosecution is so fast that four men executed for allegedly committing rape were proved innocent after couple of years. Castration, a surgical action in which a biological male loses the use of testicles, is also used as a punishment for rape. This causes sterilization and as a result the male cannot reproduce again.
Iran provides justice to the rape victim by giving death penalty to the rapist. The country has the provision to hang the person to death. Around 10 to 15 percent of executions carried out in Iran are related to rape cases. Sometimes the case is settled down by permission of the victim, providing her with compensation. The guilty escapes death penalty but is still liable for 100 lashes or life imprisonment.
In Meera Dhungana v Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs 2001, the Supreme Court of Nepal recognized marital rape (sex without wife's consent) as an offence. Similarly, in the Jit Kumari Pangeni v Prime Minister and Office of the Council of Ministers case, the court said, "As rape has been recognized as a grave criminal offence, there is no rationality in differentiating between marital and non-marital rape." The court further said where a "spouse is considered as means of recreation and exploitation and contrary to the desires of the spouse, her health and needs, is raped by the closest person, then such a person committing such an offensive act cannot be entitled to rebate in punishment merely because of his relationship with his spouse."
In recent years there have been various guidelines and recommendations from international human rights organizations in regard to rape and sexual violence. One view that is advanced is that the offense of 'rape' should be replaced with a broader offense of 'sexual assault'. Rape was also codified as part of the definition of crimes against humanity in the Article 7 of Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 1998.
Rape is a grave crime from which the victim is not physically assaulted but emotionally and spiritually demolished. The existing legal policies targeted to address the victim of rape are inadequate and need timely amendment. Nepal cannot introduce life sentence or death penalty to rapists as the country is signatory to various conventions that discourage or stop such acts. Instead of death penalty the government should consider the proposition of chemical castration on rape convicts. Chemical castration is practiced in some countries in Europe and some states in the United States. With the increase in rape cases in India, some activists there have also demanded their government to adopt castration as punishment for rapists.
Rape is not the result of a mental illness. It is a conscious choice. The reason I believe that rapists should have chemical castration because that way, it would guarantee that they wouldn't be a threat to anyone else ever again.
There is no point in putting rapists in prison. The threat of prison is not a deterrent. Rapists know they will serve a small sentence and be back to continue with their malicious acts. If there is clear and incontrovertible evidence that a person has forced someone to have sex against their will, the person should be subjected to chemical castration. It can create fear among criminals to commit such a crime.
The author is Kathmandu based criminal and Human Right Lawyer
roshankumarksl@yahoo.com
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