The Delhi court may have awarded death sentence to all four accused of the Delhi gang-rape case, but the skepticism prevailing among women on whether capital punishment is the answer to prevent such incidents has not ceased. City Express spoke to women of different age groups for their take on the verdict. It was not surprising that many felt that this will not end such crimes.
Very few felt that such verdicts will encourage women to report such cases. “The death penalty is not the solution. Their punishment should have been much harsher keeping in mind what that poor girl had to endure,” opined Jyotsna Sreenath, an English teacher at Malla Reddy engineering college.
She also felt that the juvenile accused, who was sentenced to just three years, deserved a more severe punishment. Pooja Bansal (24), an MNC employee, agrees that the death sentence was anything but severe.
“The sentence is as far as the law can go. People who perpetrate such horrific crimes should be punished publicly so that this instils fear in other people and prevents them from committing crimes against women,” she said.
Padmaja Shaw, a faculty member in the journalism department in Osmania University (OU) pointed out that it was more important to look into the societal aspects that lead the criminals to commit such a heinous crime.
“Although I oppose the whole idea of death sentence, this particular case was pretty gruesome,” she asserted. She added that studies from across the world showed that the death sentence is never a deterrent.
“I won’t say that the verdict is enough, but then this is the maximum punishment that can be given in a democratic setup like ours,” said Shikha Singh (22), an assistant producer at an NGO.
She pointed out that it is more important to prevent such incidents from happening rather than trying to punish the criminals harshly. “After what has happened, nothing will bring justice to the girl,” she asserted.
However, those like Neha Naomi (22), an entrepreneur, felt that the Delhi’s court judgement is a milestone in the way the country will deals with rapists in future.
Sunita Krishnan, founder of Prajwala agrees that a precedent has been set by the courts.
“The higher courts should reject the appeal of these criminal. The police should also take a cue from their Delhi counterparts and deal such cases with sensitivity,” she said.
Naomi hopes that this verdict gives hope to the many victims to speak up now and fight for their rights.