Daily Lessons fro Life 07 June 2014 - Culture and Rape ...

"India gang-rape puts caste system under spotlight - CNA 07 June 2014

INDIA: In India where a rape is committed every 22 minutes, very often the country's rigid caste structure is a contributing factor.

The act of rape is often a crime of power against a lower caste community, of which the girls are actively targeted.

The recent shocking case of two teenage girls being gang-raped and hanged on a tree in Badaun, rural Uttar Pradesh, is a case in point."

In the last few years, people in Singapore and around the world had read about the horrify 'gang raped and killed' reports from one of the 4 great ancient civilisations, India, far TOO MANY times.

Each time the Indian people, or at least SOME of the right thinking ones, were outraged. Protests were staged. The cases were so-called 'fast-tracked'; and politicians, some of them anyway, expressed the desire to change the laws, protect the women's rights and punish the rape-killers mercilessly.

Yet, when the ruckus, or some cynics unkindly but probably rightly called: 'the circus', died down, similarly heinous crimes continued to be committed against women of India - Unabated.

With the latest gang-rape-and-kill of the 2 young girls aged 16 and 14 recently. The same complaint, great indignation, cries for justice and noises were made. AGAIN.

And this time around an Indian Minister spouted the incomprehensible cryptic comments of: "Rape is a social crime. Sometimes right and sometimes wrong!"

What the fxxx is he talking about? Does he need to be raped and then asked if his being rape belongs to the 'sometime right'?

Then CAME this explanation in India by some educated folks that it may be due to the ancient CASTE system. It seems that many of the rape victims were from the lowest CASTE, the Dalit, or otherwise known as: 'the Untouchable'.

I have OFTEN questioned some of the world practices that some gave them 'respectability' by naming them:  customs and cultural values. e.g. child brides, honour killings, and NOW this 'rape against the lower caste is a cultural thingy'!!

In this day and age, such lame and pathetic excuses for committing crimes against humanities MUST NOT and CANNOT be tolerated.

In fact, I don't even believe that there should be Kings and Queens, Princes and Princesses as ALL human being are BORN EQUAL.

Lessons for me are:

1. hide NOT in irrelevant 'old custom and practices' when the practices are obviously wrong but the majority of humanity. It cannot be allowed to work!;

2. when such 'cultural values' travelled as people become more mobile, SUCH 'warped cultural values' MUST NOT and CANNOT be tolerated in the new 'host country'. In today's world, we still learn of senseless deaths involving 'honour killing' in UK or some other countries by 'immigrants'. Not to mention 'enslaving' so-called domestic helpers;

3. for Singapore, as the nation opens widely the door to welcome immigrants, DO WE know what to do SHOULD some of the undesirable 'cultural values' also moved here? Touched wood that this will NEVER happen in Singapore. At the same time, since we never know, we better have prepared ourselves mentally.

Culture of rape-and-kill or gang-rape-and-kill WILL NOT be tolerated in Singapore. I am glad this is so. I am glad that Singapore STILL believe in capital punishment as it is only right that the offenders and proved culprits who took innocent lives away pay with his or her or their since all lives are equal.