Author: keenut

Ex Aequo Et Bono

Posted on by keenut

The pungent truth.  The recent rape and death of young seya may actually be a wakeup call for all of us. Not of what the justice system is, but what are attitudes and priorities are as a society.
Fact: Children get raped every day in this country. From Infants to 18 year olds. We are probably one of the leading countries to manufacture child pornography. Every time you visit a beach (yes I’m talking about that beach you probably use as a get-away from all the chaos in your life), there is a possibility that there is a child in the next room sold for all sorts of reasons. Child-sex tourism exists! (and talking about it does not erode our culture)
Orphanages. How often are orphanages investigated? Do we really know how well these children are taken care of? They’re the unloved, and unnoticed after all (as harsh as this is, it is reality) do you as a member of society know how often children get molested?

If little Seya wasn’t killed, what would your reaction be? Would we have even heard of this disgusting story in the media? Would her parents have hidden this, afraid of the shame it would bring their family? Would we as a society still have hunted the perpetrator/s down? Would we have still demanded justice?

Or may be we would have heard about it ( An insignificant article in a newspaper) Her family may have made a complaint, her family may have sought justice and the justice system may have failed her anyway.               
Fact: Women.  Men. Women and men get raped every day too.  They most often suffer silently. Nobody really cares.  The justice system has now become an obstacle to itself. Vidhya was raped and killed. She made it to the news. There were vigils, debates and with it she faded away too.  If she wasn’t brutally murdered would vigils of support have been organized anyway?  Would we have still given her cause, the due attention it needed? Would we as citizens actually cared?
Or would the media have shamed her? “she asked for it” “it was the uniform she wore”

If she lived to tell the tale, would we have listened to her? In all honesty could she have sought justice?

How many deaths of this nature would it take for us to realize that something is truly wrong with our system? And most importantly our attitudes. Do people need to be brutally killed/raped to  create a shock wave?

Can we not as a society change/reform laws and attitudes before the next attack of this sort happens?

The Media sensationalizes these deaths. I suppose anything for a better rating. But is this sensationalism needed to grab your attention? Had not these deaths happened would we have still spoken out loud about these issues? Do we as a society need to see photographs of the crime to empathize and/or to feel disgusted?

The story of Ajith. An individual with autism was raped. Why is the news slow to grab on to this terrible incident? Is it because he wasn’t killed? if he was, wouldn’t we have given this crime the much needed attention it deserves?

Wouldn’t the AG of this country have acted on this matter sooner? YES!  Would the judge have granted bail to the perpetrators? Most probably NOT!

If the above is true, something is truly wrong with how we function.

We are either immune or terribly sick in the head!

The reality is the justice system is not equipped to handle Ajith’s plight.  A human being with autism needs to be dealt with special care. The trauma that he may go through in this ordeal will be far greater than any individual in this situation. But does the system take this into consideration? WHY is it not taken into consideration?

Clearly the justice system has not evolved. We as a society has failed each and every individual who goes through this sickening plight. And we keep failing as we have grown to be quite comfortable. We too are responsible.

Our logic:Blame the Victim if he/she lives.
Seek justice if victim is dead.

What kind of mentality is this?

From what I hear, a state counsel has  to deal with an average of 75 cases a day. There are over 170 vacancies that need to be filled at the Attorney General’s Department (apparently). Can a lawyer give his fullest attention to 75 cases he/she handles a day. Has justice not failed already? When 100’s of Attorneys at Law pass out twice every year why is there still a shortage of counsels in the AG’s Department. And why are we as citizens alright with this situation?

What kind of bubble do we live in?

May be we are only interested in the political aspects of this country.

When are fundamental rights were eroding did we not oust the previous regime? If we the citizens could have done all that why are we not questioning the administrators of justice too? Should we not create some form of accountability? After all it is high time we question the backlog of cases in Courts. The insensitivities when dealing with rape victims itself is a question that needs to be discussed.  It is high time the laws of this country stopped being sexist. Stopped being ridiculously patriarchal and most importantly reformed to be in line with the 21st Century.

Should we not as the general public of this country be equally blamed for being comfortable in this mess. Are we all not responsible for our apathetic attitude?

We should be first disgusted of ourselves.

Statutory Rape and the Judiciary

Posted on by keenut

Pardon me! Each case has its own complexities, entanglements and complications.   But I’m amused and mostly pissed at what these three judges considered when they passed this judgment.

A fifteen year old girl (still recognized as a child by OUR LAW) has intercourse with her brother in law, whether consensual or otherwise IS RAPE.   The Penal code on statutory rape cannot be clearer. Yet judges of the Supreme Court set aside a decision to not put the man behind bars because it is in the best interest of the child born of rape.

So I’m puzzled with the message they’re trying to send across to the general public? Most importantly to women! Are we heading towards a Justice System that sympathizes with the violator instead of the victim?  When a prison sentence is set aside do these judges not understand that the victim is most likely to be abused AGAIN by the man who raped her once before?  Or is it no longer considered as abuse because you’re now the mother of his child? People choose courts when all else fails. Not every woman raped has the strength to carry themselves through all the mud and shame that is aimed at her right through out trial. Usually it is on her own-Heck! Even society blames the victim and usually sympathizes with the violator.  There is always some godforsaken reason why it happened in the first place.

Hence my utter disappointment and disgust with the decision discussed below by ‘The Island’.  It is not the decision per say that’s disgusting but most importantly how three learned judges attempted to consider issues and alternatives.
When dealing with sexual violence Judges shouldn’t consider marriage/proposals for rape victims (Unless the role of a judge has significantly changed and I was obviously unaware of it due to the hermit life I’ve chosen) that is not the judiciary’s business. How convenient it would be for men to rape and for women to go to courts only to be told that maybe they should marry the rapist because now they’re pregnant.  Since when did the judiciary think of being the “Kapu mahataya” in these issues?  Are women never going to be recognized as individuals with rights?
You also don’t pass decisions in the interest of the ‘unborn child’.  Yes courts are guardians to children but they’re also guardians to the REST OF US TOO.  The 15 year old GIRL was also a CHILD.
With precedents like this women would and rightly should be more afraid to approach the system especially if it’s precedent for judges to propose or even consider marriage! This happened to a girl who is 15 years.  It is considered Statutory Rape.  The only reason she was probably not given this alternative was because
a)she was 15 (phew!)  and
b)he was already married.

Since when is it considered okay to be lenient on sentencing?  Yes I understand that each case has its complexities but my issue is with how the courts came to this decision and the alternatives they considered for the victim. Suspended Sentences seem to be the latest trend. The JOY.  The audacity.

Justice at Hulftsdorf is literally on a Hill, you usually cannot reach for it in a day. It’s a slow and painful uphill battle. And one takes years to reach the apex court only to be told that the seriousness of the issue isn’t taken into consideration but what’s best for the kid born out of rape. Are women so secondary that even the justice system refuses to understand the plight  and predicaments faced by the woman..
Are the lives of victims so useless that even the courts who are’ supposed’ to play the role of a guardian act in a manner that’s detrimental to the well-being of victims of sexual violence.  Who ensures the safety of the Victims?

We’re often shocked by court decisions implemented by not so far countries around us, yet when it happens in our own backyard what are you going to do? Not every case makes it to the Newspaper, how many of these cases get swept under the rug due to the inefficiencies of Court How is it possible to call them learned when this is a grave injustice.
Maybe its high time we as the public DEMAND that we know how such individuals are nominated as judges and most importantly WHY. They’re after all the trustees of the System that make or break ‘every day people” Who appoints them?
I suppose all I’m trying to say is this. Unless you’re a career judge you shouldn’t be in the superior courts. Because you’re depriving a potential judge who could do a better job than you.
And if you’re a woman, Well we need to think of other mechanisms to battle a system that doesn’t take the plight of a raped woman seriously.

http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=124621

Women should not have a choice!

Posted on by keenut

Women should not have a choice.

When a woman chooses to be a house wife or when she chooses a career- is not the kind of choice I have an issue with. But the choice where women choose to be comfortable with issues faced by all women as a whole.  Women must collectively fight for their rights to be treated equally. I can never understand how a woman can choose to submit herself or choose to be domesticated or choose to believe that a man has more reverence than she could ever imagine.

The notion of what makes a woman a woman is wrapped in religion, culture and norms but the notion of what makes a man a man is raw. Which is probably why the argument of what constitutes rape is still debated. Because a man isn’t really defined by secondary factors like religion and norms and what he ought to be but by the underlying base of what he really is. This is probably why most of the time a victim when abused is at fault because hey, a man has animalistic tendencies- he can’t keep it in his pants.

This is probably the first issue feminist face. Most women who advocate rights still believe in the concept of a ‘lady’ or a ‘slut’ or a‘bitch’.  We grade ourselves and judge constantly. We as women have no clue where to start. And the problem is probably because of the women who raised us. Most women are clueless how to raise their children let alone their daughters. We let the boys…well be boys and girls…well they have a lot of standards and expectations to meet. There are more don’ts than do’s. It’s rare where you find parents instilling responsibilities to children equally. One group may have relatively more freedom to experience some sense of life whilst the other has no clue between the difference of existing and living; mere chattel to be auctioned off at marriageable age.

As girls we are constantly told how to act like one. We are given a manual of what to say, what to not say and most importantly how to behave. We are at all times supposed to consider the feelings of a man, be it father, brother, husband sometimes even children. We are constantly told to compromise, sacrifice and put up with all forms of abuse for the sake of family, children or sometimes even sanity.  Of course there is no harm in instilling values in children after all that is a responsibility of every parent. But my issue is what exactly you are instilling as values. There are double standards.

This is why most women can’t seem to put anything first except her master.

When women argue about choice, they completely forget that we all should collectively participate in bringing about equal rights. Whether one is a stay at home mother or a career oriented woman. Women should constantly advocate for it. But they don’t.

Even in the 21st century most women do not know if they can run a country or  even if they should,

Women do not if they can run a company or if they should- especially after popping a baby or two.
Heck women aren’t even sure what sort of role they should play even in the management of house-affairs.
This is why the term choice is bad. You cannot choose to not deal with it. You cannot choose to be comfortable with it. You must advocate for equality so that one day we would actually be recognized as human beings-  As beings who have wants, needs, likes and dislikes.

Instead we are constantly pinning each other down. We have forgotten the bigger fight. We freak out when we see boobs or leg-related campaigns completely forgetting that sometimes no matter how horrendous the action…. Maybe just maybe you’re looking at it from a cultural norm that you’re probably basking in .


STEP OUT OF IT.  Give credit to the few that talk out loud about it. JOIN THEM it’s foolish to fight them.  They’re fighting for your rights too.
It must have been a joke back then when women fought for education, Voting rights and careers. it was against the norms back then but today at least it is debated to some extent. But this is still  a half baked cake.  There is still a long way to go until we truly know or feel what it’s like to be accepted as a human being with thoughts, ambitions, aspirations and most importantly freedom to live.

This is why I have never understood why women are so comfortable with the way they’re treated, or looked at.  Why are women choosing to be secondary human beings; choosing such a detrimental view is only hurting the fight.

The sort of choice that’s useless; a waste of space.