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Society
Rape Victims Marry Violators: Is this Welfare?
by Eliza Parija
While the country is
debating on the quantum of punishment for rapists in India, the eastern
state of Orissa is witnessing marriages between rape survivors and their
rapists.
These marriages are not only facilitated by jail authorities - where the
alleged rapists are lodged - and the NGOs supporting the victims, but
are also propagated as an exemplary gesture, a kind of atonement for the
crime committed. As a result, many accused have actually used this route
as a ploy to either escape punishment completely or get away with a
lesser sentence.
In Baripada town, 150 kilometers from Bhubaneswar, a rape accused, who
was an under trial prisoner, married the woman he had attacked in the
presence of senior politicians, police and government officials. After
nearly two months, the accused was released by an order passed by Chief
Judicial Magistrate of the Court allowing him to go back to his village
and lead a life with his 'wife.'
In another incident in Bhubaneswar the alleged rapist, a government
official, was persuaded to marry his victim by an NGO supporting the
victim. A special wedding function was organized by the NGO in the
prison, to which the media was also invited.
A prison official in the western district of Jharsuguda termed such a
marriage held in his jail as part of a policy of "reform and
rehabilitation". The marriage between the accused and his victim was
arranged in the Jharsuguda sub-jail. The alleged rapist's advocate
approached the victim with a marriage proposal and with help from legal
counselors. The two agreed to marry. "What I did was wrong," a lawyer
quoted the accused as saying after the wedding. "Now I am happy to get a
chance to make amends." The victim was also quoted as saying that she
was ready to forgive her tormentor. "At the time of rape I hated him. I
wanted to tear him to pieces. But I have a different feeling now. I have
forgiven him because he has chosen me as his wife," she is believed to
have said. Following the marriage, a bail petition has been moved to
free the accused.
In another incident, an alleged rapist was granted interim bail by a
local court to facilitate his marriage with the victim in Sundergarh
district. The accused and his friend had allegedly gang raped the girl
while she was returning to her village after attending a tribal
festival. The court, after receiving consent from the girl and the
accused, granted bail to the accused for the couple to get married.
The growing practice of such unions has evoked mixed reactions. While
some justify such marriages on the basis of "rehabilitating the victim",
others are strongly critical of it and label it as "nothing short of
another offence."
"Do the people who advocate such marriages ever follow-up to see if the
woman is happy in her marriage? The possibility of further violence and
desertion in a marriage based on the foundations of a violent act is
always there," says Bisakha Bhanja of the National Alliance for Women (NAWO),
Orissa. She maintains that a marriage proposal by a rapist or a deserter
is usually done to win a reprieve.
Others add that such a practice also sends signals to potential
offenders that they can easily get away with their crime. Some have
pointed out that those NGOs, jail authorities and sections of the
judiciary which have fostered such marriages in the name of social
reform are actually going against a recent ruling by the Supreme Court
of India. The Supreme Court had observed that if a person commits rape,
neither a proposal of marriage nor any other settlement between the
rapist and victim, can condone him of the crime.
However, in a recent case in Cuttack district, the Orissa High Court
asked a rape accused to either languish in jail without bail or marry
the victim. The accused had sexually abused the girl on the pretext of
marrying her and later deserted her after she became pregnant. The
victim subsequently lodged a complaint against him. "Permanent bail
would be allowed only if the accused tied the knot with the victim
within this two-month period and allow his name to be the baby's
father," the Bench specified.
Lawyers and jurists argue that such cases need to be judged on the basis
of the circumstances and context of each case. "If both the complainant
and the accused are willing to compromise and get married, the Court has
no alternative but to quash the proceedings," says Orissa-based lawyer
Bibhu Tripathy. He argues that there cannot be a straitjacket approach
in such cases. But he also cautions that marriage between the accused
and the victim is possible only when both parties agree and the
situation is conducive to such a relationship. "What if the accused is
already married and what if the victim is unwilling?" he asks.
"The practice of rapists marrying their victims may be condoned in some
instances. But it should also be remembered that several such cases are
based on the false promise of marriage and result in desertion," says
Sneha Mishra, Orissa State Coordinator of the "We Can" Campaign to end
violence against women. She also observes that many of these cases
involve couples who are already in a relationship and the man usually
deserts the women or refuses to marry her upon discovering that she is
pregnant. This, she believes, is also a serious offence.
Rituparna Mohanty of Orissa-based NGO, 'Sanjeevani', which had
facilitated four such alliances recently, claims that getting the victim
married to the accused "restores the lost dignity of the women." She
explains: "While some of the cases are actually based on false promise
of marriage, others are actual cases of rape. But in both kinds of
cases, it's the women - especially unwed mothers - who are stigmatized
and ostracized by their communities. At least through a marriage they
can hope to lead socially acceptable lives."
Mohanty admits that where there are inherent problems in such alliances,
"we try and involve the families from both sides and also counsel the
victim and accused intensely."
In response to this line of argument Bhanja retorts, "Why is marriage
being advocated as the only answer in such cases? Can't the victims be
rehabilitated with more dignity and economic independence?"
But there are not many who would agree with this rational response.
Given the prevalent patriarchal attitudes, survivors of rape continue to
be denied their rights and sense of self respect, even as justice
delivery remains an arduously slow and difficult process.
May 24, 2009
By arrangement with
WFS
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