The recent brutal abduction, rape and torture of a five-year-old girl in India’s capital Delhi has shaken the nation’s collective conscience. People from all walks of life showed their anger in the street.
The home minister of India tried to calm down residents of Delhi and the members of the Parliament by saying, such incidents are taking place not only in Delhi, but all over India. Sexual crimes have gone epidemic. This makes me wonder as why has our traditional society deteriorated to this level? Where does the fault lie?
The boom in pornographic channels, erotic songs in Hindi cinema in the name of providing entertainment and free sex culture in colleges and universities are some of the reasons for the rise in horrific sexual crimes. Unfortunately, we do not wake up unless the sexual violence is also accompanied by physical violence. A woman who survives the rape without significant physical injury is often held responsible for a crime committed against her while the rapist often faces limited, if any, social or legal actions.
Where is the fault? Are we copying the West? Undoubtedly, yes. We are encouraging pre-marital consensual sex in our traditional Indian society in the name of freedom. We have installed condom machines at gates of universities for safe sex. Instead of encouraging our traditional marriage system, we are asking our youths to follow the Western style of free sex.
Islam, in order to protect this valuable and priceless honor of women, has commanded the believing women to properly cover her body. It also asks its followers to lower their gazes. Islam forbids women to wear clothes that are not modest and to travel without a mahram.
Islam encourages young men and women to marry early, and many other rulings, which can help rein in rapes. — Mohammed Shahid Kamal, Khamis Mushayt
Rising rape cases in India
