A Judge In The Karnataka High Court Said It Was “Unbecoming” Of A Woman To Fall Asleep After Rape. That’s An Extremely Poor Choice Of Words
If social problems in India (because there are so many) were to be neatly tucked into categories, then without a shadow of doubt, the ones with women involved in it would be swept under the ‘sensitive’ category. That is when they’re not being shoved under the header of “never to be opened” altogether. Every day, we read of something that causes alarm and is a cause for women to be vocal, and it’s relentless. And while we will be talking always about politicians and men in this country sounding like complete buffoons, we have respect for the courts of the country. We think that’s true for everyone. But when they say something like this, we are thrown.
Recently, the Karnataka court had something bizarre to say when the bail application of a rape accused was up for judging. The complainant was told by the High Court “that after perpetration of the act she was tired and fell asleep is unbecoming of an Indian woman; that is not how our women react when they are ravished.” With no definition made clear of what “our” was to mean in the above controversial statement.
One of the reasons for grant of bail to rape accused
"the explanation offered by the complainant that after the perpetration of the act she was tired and fell asleep, is unbecoming of an Indian woman; that is not the way our women react when they are ravished". pic.twitter.com/NVYMMPsuIY
— Murali Krishnan (@legaljournalist) June 24, 2020
This is a statement that’s got us up in arms because it is tone-deaf and flat out faulty. The case itself is another matter.
You see, the case that was filed on the complainant’s claim that she was raped on the false promise of marriage, but got a little more complicated than anticipated. It is well known that a lot of the time, sexual predators are known the victim, which was also the case here. The woman had employed the accused for over two years and more at the time of the filing of the case. The statement of the complainant said that she had been to a hotel for dinner where she and the accused consumed drinks and then sat in the car. These were the events leading up to the rape.
Also Read : A Woman Got Raped Inside A Courthouse By A Staff Member In New Delhi. Women Aren’t Safe Anywhere
However, upon investigation it was brought to light, how the complainant allegedly wrote a letter herself to the effect that she was ready to withdraw the complaint if some sort of compromise could be reached. Now whether the HC observed the ‘unbecoming’ statement because of the the comfort level the victim and the perpetrator shared, or what, we don’t entirely know. What we do know is that it was an extremely poor choice of words.
"Unbecoming Of An Indian Woman," Says Court, Grants Bail To Rape Accused https://t.co/Z6GgF5OXzh
— NDTV News feed (@ndtvfeed) June 25, 2020
Yes, the details are sketchy and we don’t know how it played out but using the words “unbecoming of the Indian woman”, to fall asleep after being ‘ravished’ are rather unbecoming of a court. Let it be said and loudly, there is no right or wrong way to react to the trauma as that of being raped. Most cases of rape in India don’t even get reported for the simple fact of women are scared, intimidated and embarrassed of being a victim in a crime that is not their fault. Words like these make it worse, and this needs to stop.
