Instant just deserts, please!

Aradhika  Sharma

Mandy: Has anyone brought any dessert today?

Shobha: Yes, I have some kheer, and talking of desserts, thank goodness that Asaram Bapu finally got his just deserts. Der aaye, durust aaye!

Me: Yes, but why should there be der? The problem is that we Indians are too easily pleased and placated. You have to realise that it has actually been five long years since the girl was raped by that horrid man. That’s too protracted because while revenge is a dish best served cold, justice should be swift and severe. 

Sabrina: True. Rape is horribly offensive and all the more heinous when children are involved. High time there was a mandated prescribed timeline for the final sentence. Punishment must be quick, visible and measurable to have any impact. 

Mandy: Let’s hope they give POSCO some teeth and it’s not just a window dressing.

Me: These are high profile cases, which is why we get to hear about them sometimes. My maid was telling me about a 17-year-old daughter of a rickshaw guy. She was forced into a vehicle by some hoodlums when she was returning from work. It’s been seven days and there is still no sign of her. 

Shobha: Terrible! And if they do find her or catch the culprits, they’ll try and prove that she was a consenting adult or that she was ‘asking for it’ or just strong-arm the family into keeping quiet. 

Sabrina: The scene is too dismal yaar. I don’t even want to start talking about the poor little girl in Kathua. Blood boils at the sheer depravity of it.

Me: Seriously, in such situations, action has to be fast tracked before the boiling blood turns cold and apathy sets in. Where’s the fear? Where’s the terror of punishment that’s supposed to act as a deterrent? How come any random man can pick up a girl and rape or molest her with impunity? 

Mandy: In England they name and shame paedophiles and convicted rapists, while our country is called the ‘rape capital of the world’. How shameful.

Sabrina: I think I prefer what China does. They punish the rapist straight away with a death sentence and in some scenarios, mutilate their genitals.

Shobha: And in Afghanistan, within just four days, they shoot the rapist in the head. And you know, in Iran, the rapist is hanged at public places.

Me: Really? How do you girls know so much about international rape laws?

Shobha: Which woman doesn’t? As a gender and fraternity isn’t everyone angry, afraid and concerned? 

Sabrina: Hmmm… time for us to realise that we constitute 50 per cent of the world and that makes for a lot of people who can press for change.

Mandy: Time for the powers-that-be to realise that we’re a pretty large vote bank.