Defining Rape Nonchalantly

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 29 March 2025 Grabbing breasts of the victim, breaking the string of her pyjama and trying to drag her beneath the culvert are not enough to charge an accused with the offence of rape or attempt to rape, the Allahabad high court observed recently, describing such an act as “aggravated sexual assault” while modifying a summoning order and altering the charges against two accused. If this is not rape, what's rape? That this asinine verdict came from the judges of the Allahabad High Court, underlines our society's attitude towards women. (Image Courtesy: From Files) Since judges are also the products of this system and society, this verdict is not an anomaly or aberration. In the mid-seventies, a Session judge in Rajasthan asked a rape victim, " Aapke m(n)uh mein zabardasti gur daala daala jaaye toh kya woh aapko kadwa lagega?" (If a piece of jaggery is forcibly put in your mouth, will that taste bitter to you?)" That sexist and perverted judge went on to become a High Court judge in Rajasthan. During that time, one more judge in UP asked a woman, "When you put your finger in the ear when there's a feeling of itching, doesn't your ear feel good?" Remember, all these insinuations and innuendos were being made by the 'honourable' judges when the High Court and the Apex Court in India were trying to prove that an adivasi girl Mathura (refer to Mathura Rape Case, 1972) was used to sex, she might have incited the cops (they were drunk on duty) to have intercourse with her. We're extremely indifferent to the dignity and modesty of a woman. Judges are no exceptions. Since the very idea of a woman's modesty is so amorphous in India, our comments are also very casual and rank insensitive. A woman's modesty is not just limited to an act of reluctant insertive / forced sexual intercourse. 'Penetration' is not the be-all and end-all of a rape. Rape perceptions and values are important variables that need to be taken into account to understand men’s violent sexual actions (penetration or no penetration) towards women. These sexist judges must know that it's also an assault on a woman's modesty when she is forced to watch explicit stuff by a man or men. This is a punishable act under Indian Penal Code. So, why can't snapping the string of her pyjama or grabbing her breasts be called a rape? Rapes and attempts to rape happen rampantly and we choose to look askance because we don't feel that it's our social and moral responsibility to condemn it. This nonchalance and insensitivity have made us so blasé about the plight of a woman in India. Lastly, some studies also inferred that in India, patriarchal conceptions of men’s control over women’s bodies, sexuality, movement, and autonomy lead to sexual violence against women. As a result, in India, sexual violence against women is sometimes accepted and allowed as a normal aspect of family life. This tacit acceptance has also made our collective attitude towards rape so frivolous. Instead of sympathising with the victim, we make fun of her and try to belittle the gravity and enormity of her predicament. ... A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://www.newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/defining-rape-nonchalantly-/d/135010 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism