In a country still struggling to deal with widespread violence against women, an Indian judge has touched off a firestorm by suggesting that a rape victim and her attacker try to heal their rift in the hope of a happy ending.
When Madras High Court Judge P. Devadass recently let a rapist out of prison on bail so he could "mediate" with his victim, it caused an uproar among legal scholars and women's rights activists.
The move was deemed "retrograde," "misogynistic" and simply bad jurisprudence. Lawyers who work in the courthouse's mediation center wrote a letter to the chief justice, demanding that Devadass's order be rescinded. India's Supreme Court, weighing in on a different case, said last week that any compromise between a rape victim and a perpetrator would be a "spectacular error."
Devadass, a former family court judge, declined through staff members to discuss his order. But critics say it provides a glimpse of the patriarchal attitudes still prevalent in the male-dominated Indian judiciary.
More than two years after the fatal gang-rape of a student brought protesters to the streets and a clarion call for change, judges in India continue to create controversy with their comments in rape cases. One judge asserted that child prostitution is not rape, and another suggested that women who have premarital sex are prone to make accusations of rape or kidnapping later.
The lawyers in the Madras High Court mediation center, an alternative to the overburdened court system, arbitrate mostly civil cases and have called Devadass's order "highly inappropriate." They said it reinforces centuries-old Indian cultural stereotypes — that a woman who is the victim of sexual violence should marry her assailant to protect her honor, especially if a baby is born as a result of the assault.
"The thinking is if there has been a rape, there has been sexual contact and, therefore, the best solution for her would be to marry the man," said Geeta Ramaseshan, a Madras High Court lawyer and mediator. "It's a very patriarchal mind-set."
The victim, now 22, vividly remembers what happened to her in 2008. The aunt who raised her was at a funeral in a nearby town, she said, leaving her to baby-sit children at a neighbor's house.
The neighbor's son, V. Mohan, a college student, had been nasty to her in the past but was friendly this time, offering her a cold beverage. She soon became dizzy and passed out. When she came to, she was lying on the floor. Mohan beckoned her over to show her his cellphone. He had photographed the assault and threatened to use the images to blackmail her, she said.
"To this day, I do not know the reason why he raped me," the woman said recently.
A week after the rape, she broke down and told a friend. Word spread in the village, a cluster of just three lanes in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Her father, an alcoholic who was an itinerant presence in her life, beat her. "Why did you not tell us?" relatives demanded.
Her family went to the police to file a report. The situation worsened when it became clear that she was pregnant. A DNA test later confirmed Mohan's paternity. He and his parents offered to pay a $3,000 settlement if she had an abortion. Even the village elders weighed in, also urging her to terminate the pregnancy.
Mohan was convicted in 2009 and sentenced to seven years in prison. Last year, he filed an appeal.
In his recent order, Devadass ruminated that women are often the "soft targets of male lust" and lamented that there were two victims in this case: the woman as well as the child born as a result of the rape.
"Now, [the victim] has become mother of a child," the judge wrote. "But as on date, she is nobody's wife. So, she is an unwed mother. Now there is a big question mark looming large before [the victim] as well as her child, who is completely innocent."
The judge deemed that mediation was the best option in this case, noting that he had recommended it on another occasion earlier this year, with the rapist agreeing to marry the victim, a case now heading toward a "happy conclusion."
Sriram Panchu, a senior lawyer, said the judge's order is being protested partly because mediation is normally used to resolve marital or commercial disputes, not violent crimes.
The victim said that the judge's directive caught her by surprise and that she has been living in fear that her attacker would find and harm her.
"If I meet the judge, I would ask him, 'Do you know the pain I suffered as a child and was raped, and raising this child?' " she said. "You are sitting in an air-conditioned hall writing your judgment. Have you ever thought of me? How I have suffered? The scar still remains."
Mohan said in a brief telephone interview that he wants to pursue mediation, and his attorney, C. Arunkumar, said they would participate. Neither discussed the case in detail, although Mohan had earlier said that the sex was consensual.
Karuna Nundy, a Supreme Court lawyer, said there had been a slow attitudinal shift within the judiciary as gender-sensitivity training increases and awareness grows. But advocates say more must be done, including gender equity on the bench. Only a small percentage of judges in India's high courts are women, and there is only one female judge on the Supreme Court.
"The habits of patriarchy die hard — in any country," Nundy said.
Since the mediation order, the victim and her daughter, now 7, have taken refuge at a women's shelter. Over the weekend, they watched cartoons together as evening drew in.
The woman, soft-spoken and dressed in a traditional shalwar kameez outfit, said she was shunned after the birth of her daughter and struggled to find employment, working briefly in a knitting mill and doing other odd jobs. Both the victim, who left school in 10th grade, and her daughter are now in school.
A mediation hearing in her case has been set for Monday, and women's groups are planning to protest. Ramaseshan said the victim should simply not show up, because mediation requires both parties to participate willingly. And she is not.
"I do not want to see him at any cost, for any reason," the woman said. "Even if it is mandatory, I will not go."
The Washington Post
Fri Jul 10 2015
When Madras High Court Judge P. Devadass recently let a rapist out of prison on bail so he could "mediate" with his victim, it caused an uproar among legal scholars and women's rights activists.
'Keganasan bola sepak': Modus operandi serangan digunakan serupa - PDRM
Modus operandi yang digunakan dalam serangan terhadap tiga pemain bola sepak kebangsaan iaitu Faisal Halim, Akhyar Rashid dan Safiq Rahim adalah serupa.
Majlis Ulama Asia main peranan penting pupuk kesederhanaan - Ahmad Zahid
Majlis itu secara aktif menentang ideologi ekstremis, di samping memupuk perpaduan sosial melalui dialog dan kerjasama dalam kalangan pelbagai kumpulan.
Pokok tumbang: Perkhidmatan monorel kembali beroperasi
Kerja-kerja pembersihan dan baikpulih yang dijalankan dengan DBKL telah berjaya diselesaikan pada jam 5.55 pagi tadi.
JDT gesa PDRM segera siasat insiden serangan ke atas pemain
Pasukan JDT turut menzahirkan kerisauan berkaitan keselamatan pemain susulan serangan yang berlaku berhampiran pusat latihan kelab itu.
Imigresen Kelantan proses 15,000 pas sempadan setiap bulan
Permohonan itu dibuat di tiga Kompleks Imigresen, Kastam, Kuarantin dan Keselamatan (ICQS) di sempadan Malaysia-Thailand iaitu di Rantau Panjang, Pengkalan Kubor dan Bukit Bunga.
Faisal dijangka lalui prosedur graf kulit minggu ini - Ketua Perubatan Sukan SFC
Dr Muhammad Hazwan Khair berkata ia sebahagian daripada prosedur untuk membantu dan mempercepatkan pemulihan kulit.
Pelantikan Pengerusi SPA diputuskan selepas mesyuarat Majlis Raja-Raja - Mohd Zuki
Jawatan itu kosong hampir 10 bulan selepas Tan Sri Zainal Rahim Seman menamatkan perkhidmatan beliau pada 24 Julai 2023.
Ahli perniagaan dipenjara empat tahun tipu pengurus undang-undang Jakel, babit kerugian RM400,000
Keputusan dibuat selepas pihak pembelaan gagal menimbulkan keraguan munasabah terhadap kes Mohamed Noor Mohamed Amin, di akhir kes pembelaan.
AWANI Ringkas: Kos rawatan Faisal Halim ditanggung
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
Serangan ke atas Safiq Rahim tiada kaitan insiden babit dua pemain kebangsaan - Polis Johor
Orang ramai diminta memberi ruang kepada polis untuk menjalankan siasatan termasuk meneliti kamera litar tertutup berdekatan lokasi kejadian.
Institusi pendidikan di Kerala, India ditutup susulan gelombang haba
Pihak kerajaan tempatan di negeri selatan India, Kerala pada Khamis mengarahkan penutupan institusi pendidikan di sana sehingga 6 Mei ini berikutan keadaan cuaca yang amat panas, lapor Xinhua.
PRK KKB: MIPP jamin PN akan terima undi terbesar kaum India
Punithan berkata, pihak lawan dilihat mula menunjukkan kebimbangan dan rasa takut dengan kekuatan yang dimiliki PN ketika ini.
Parti politik India perhebat dekati pengundi, bagi pusingan pertama pilihan raya kebangsaan
Modi berkata kerajaannya terus berusaha untuk pembangunan ekonomi wilayah timur laut itu.
Pakistan sambut Aidilfitri hari ini, Bangladesh dan India rai Khamis
Umat Islam di Pakistan dan Sri Lanka meraikan Aidilfitri pada Rabu manakala mereka yang berada di Bangladesh dan sebahagian besar India akan menyambut perayaan itu Khamis.
15 pekerja maut bas terjunam dalam lombong di tengah India
Sekurang-kurangnya 15 pekerja terbunuh selepas bas yang membawa mereka terjunam ke dalam lombong di tengah India pada Selasa malam.
Harimau Muda atasi India 2-1
Skuad bawah 23 tahun (B-23) kebangsaan menundukkan India 2-1 pada aksi persahabatan tertutup di Stadium Bola Sepak Kuala Lumpur, malam tadi.
Doktor terpendek di dunia
Tiada siapa sangka seorang lelaki di India dinobatkan doktor terpendek di dunia apabila hanya mempunyai ketinggian tiga kaki atau 91 sentimeter.
Zii Jia dedah resipi kalahkan bekas juara dunia
Dalam aksi di Birmingham itu, Zii Jia memperagakan aksi bertenaga untuk menundukkan juara dunia 2021 dalam masa 33 minit permainan.
Umat Islam di Bangladesh, India dan Pakistan mula berpuasa pada Selasa
Arab Saudi mengumumkan anak bulan kelihatan pada Ahad dan Isnin merupakan hari pertama Ramadan.
Pelan Tindakan Masyarakat India akan diteliti semula
Satu sesi libat urus bersama pelbagai pihak berkepentingan termasuk kumpulan fokus akan diadakan bulan ini.