The crime rate has been on an increase since a very long time; especially cases of rape have

been increasingly reported. Capital punishment or death penalty is when an individual is

deceased by the state as a chastisement for delinquency that the individual has committed.

For:

- Government despairs that stern requirements will have a constraining effect on

prospective offenders when the law will be enacted

- The decree will improve the criminal laws immediately

- The law needs to be put into action as it will help in discouraging the others from doing
the same

Against:

- As per our country’s law, a punitive chastisement such as a death sentence is specified
out in a very rare scenario where the accused is found guilty in case of sexual assault, rape and
murder case

- Death penalty would be applied only to those victims who have committed the same
crime twice even after being released from the jail, which will not work in Indi, as in India people
know the ways to get rid of the punishment because of the loopholes in our law system

- The procedure of application of any policy in India has been a long procedure and a
difficult one

- Most of the men are aware, that they would be able to get out of the jail or the ones
who are influential would be taken out on bail, and hence in spite of implementing capital
punishment, they would be free and doing as they feel

- We need a much more severe sentence something like castration and that the laws
should be strictly applied for anybody and everybody who commits a crime.

Conclusion:

- Capital punishment or any other severe punishment would only make a difference if it is
actually applied on individuals who have committed crime and that they should not be let off. If
this is implemented then only will any punishment work.

Introduction

Rape, as we all know, is one of the most heinous crimes, not just in the current times, but since
the history far fetched. In some cases, it had been rated higher than even assasination or
homicide in the name of cultural and religious jingoism, and rightly so, for death is but an end to
all the mental and physical sufferings. In contrast, acts like rape and sexual harassment, result in
such a dent in pysche that, in most cases, the victim undergo a lifelong ordeal of agony and
terror. It would be naive, either lawfully or otherwise, to justify the momentary affliction of
hanging someone till death, against the perpetual forebearance of a rape victim. It's like an
aftermath compensation of some self proclaimed guardian of ethics and feminism, with an
hidden caption professing – 'We are sorry for not being able to protect your chastity, although
we impose on ourself, a moral right to exterminate the perpetrator.' The problem I see here is,
by allowing death sentence as a punishment, we have dangerously entered a domain meant only
for Gods and Demigods and thereby, risking misuse of such an unmatched efficacy, worst still,
even by so called lawfully murdering the culprit, crimes against women are thriving.

In this context it is but obvious to ponder – Does the capital punishment successfully able to
realize two of the basic tenets of any state sponsored law enforcement guidelines, namely,
deterrence and justice against crimes? If the answer to either of them is no, one need to
seriously think about the validity of capital punishment for crimes such as rape.

A Microscopic View

Going by the basic premise- one shouldn't take away something that he/she can't give, only the
Supreme Creator is the one who can take away a life force, since he is the one who gives it in the
first place. Of course this prevalent theory have certain exceptions those I don't intend to
challenge. One such instance is, killing for self defence or to defend a group, be it life, intellectual
property or for that matter someone's self respect. In this regard, if anybody, it has to be the
victim herself, who own an automatical right to punish, or to decide what is the right
punishment for the tormentor. Even if the public court of law decides to go against the universal
law of creation, the question here is, what as a torchbearer of society makes us believe, hanging
a culprit is the panacea , and why? There is no denying that it would atleast soothe the public
sentiments to a great extent, especially the victim's near and dear ones. Does that actually
mean, we become little more safer by hanging purveyors of crimes. The blatant cases of known
rapes, and many more those remain unnoticed, are the glaring example that indicate, even after
culminating the rapists, we have miserably failed to curb the ocurrence of crimes against the
women. I believe, we have a false notion, that by hanging a culprit till death,we are actually
fighting or preventing rape. By proudly sentencing someone to death, a decision driven
substantially by anger and raging public emotions, we claim to have cured the disease, until,
something as horrendous as Delhi gang rape rocks the bottom of our feet, and compel us
contemplate in utter disgust- 'What went wrong?' Apparently, hanging rapists time and again
doesn't seem to prevent atrocities on women, for seeds of lust (one of the original evil each of
us is born with- Lust Attachment Rage Greed Ego, suitably abbrebiated as LARGE) deep rooted
inside human pysche, find a perfect breeding ground in a society that has primarily been male
dominated since ages. The twin resident evils of ego and lust inside such an infected mind, if
untamed, doesn't require neither much time nor deliberate efforts to transform into an
uncontrolled master, one for whom violent dominance of the victim (both male and female)
becomes a natural instinct, and a sole survival tactic.

Conclusion

This doesn't comes to me as a surprise, for many, hanging till death (act of voilence in its own
way), is the only possible, or if I may add, easy solution; although the million dollar question is,
by continuously proposing the dealth penaly for rapists- 'Are we addressing the root cause of
such evils?' I think, its high time we proactively invest our energies in protecting, and genuinely
start honouring the due respect to someone, who are the sole reason of our existence, rather
than be a mute spectator, who only reacts, more often than not, to bolster his already inflated
ego. Its time to shed our collective infectious ego, and be a Man in real sense of terms. This
would be a first baby step, albeit in a right direction, and towards a journey that is full of gigantic
roadblocks, although with a right blend of wisdom and patience, is bound to bear the fruits.

Perspectives on Capital Punishment

Some activists say rapists should be put to death because they won’t bring any good to society.

“These perpetrators should be punished with a death sentence because the current punishment
is not enough,” goes a common refrain. Some even say suspected rapists should be killed
without a trial because the legal process takes too long.

Others would prefer a lengthy prison sentence of perhaps 20 years.

“What worries us about punishing a rapist with a death sentence is the victims’ families or
guardians won’t speak up if the rapist is a close relative,” said Daw Kyi Pyar, a Yangon Region
lawmaker.

“I don’t support the death penalty because sometimes we forget that those rapists were acting
because of their childhood experiences and that those actions have been transmitted,” said Daw
Yin Myo Su, founder of Inle Heritage and the first private community school in Nyaungshwe, in
southern Shan State.

If a rapist is sentenced to death, “it is not an answer to the case and it won’t bring the victim
immediate justice because the victim will have to live with the trauma for the rest of her life,”
said Daw Thet Thet Aung, a former political prisoner who now works for labor rights with the
Future Ray of Light.

Stronger Law Enforcement Needed

Everyone agrees on the importance of the rule of law in preventing rape cases.

“The rapists must receive harsh punishment in prison, but they don’t have to be entitled to a
pardon. Sadly, there have been presidential pardons in the past that have set those criminals
free.” Daw Thet Thet Aung said.

U Min Zaw Oo said Myanmar’s judicial system should allow victims to file their own complaints,
as in some other countries, as rapes usually have no witnesses.

“The police do not have specific procedures for sexual violence cases. We need people who
listen to their problems. We don’t have such procedures. We need that kind of training and
information sharing so that the victims can raise their voices,” he added.

Victims need psychological support services to help them rehabilitate their lives. When the
victims are teenage girls, they can’t return to their schools because they feel scared and
ashamed. In some cases the families even move to try to leave the experience behind.

There have been many awareness campaigns on the rape of both minors and women. Legislation
aiming to protect women from sexual violence is now at the attorney general’s office; advocates
expect it to become law soon.

“The [number of rape] cases can only fall when the legislative, judicial and law enforcement
sectors and civil society groups work together,” said Daw Kyi Pyar.

Campaigns Need Male Support

Most participants in awareness campaigns are women, who mostly pass on their message to
other women. More men need to join them.

“Men need to be educated that they can only have sexual intercourse with women of a certain
age,” said U Min Zaw Oo. “There needs to be more public awareness about the law regarding
rape and the age for intercourse. The problem is that many men do not know about them.”

Advocates say they also know of unreported cases of sexual violence against young boys. In
Myanmar culture, for a young boy to become a man he must live up to certain expectations; no
one wants to be seen as weak.

“They may feel twice as shy because culturally boys and men are not encouraged to talk about
such issues openly and they try to avoid that public perception,” said Daw Yin Myo Su.

Social Norms

In addition to strengthening legal protections and raising awareness, preventing rape also
requires changing mindsets, cultural barriers and social norms.
“We cannot neglect the social norms,” said Cheery Zahau, a human rights advocate and 2017 N-
Peace Award winner. She said there was no protection for minors because of social “norms and
traditions that the men can do anything they want; such thinking and action needs to dissolve.”

“Can we truly admit to ourselves why such rapes happen?” asked Daw Yin Myo Su. “It is because
of our culture, a culture of not talking about sexuality openly. We have been told since our
teenage years that talking about sex is not polite and that we should not speak out…. The
mother won’t talk to her daughter, and neither will the school. We were not taught in our teens
about sexuality and reproductive health or how to deal with those feelings.”

In Myanmar society, our elders and law enforcement authorities say it is the girls and women
who must take responsibility for preventing rape. But making only girls and women aware of the
dangers and check their actions is not the answer.

Legislation and awareness campaigns are important. But it is just as vital that everyone respects
women and girls as fellow human beings.