(Riya Singh, Intern Journalist): The brutal assault and alleged gang-rape of a young girl in Hathras left the nation shocked, especially when after her death, the family was not allowed to carry out the last rites. Rather, the victim was cremated by the police, without her family, in the middle of the night.
Consequently, social media was outraged at government authorities’ apparent apathy. the continuously worsening state of women’s safety and increase of caste-based violence in India
And now, former Supreme Court Judge and former Chairman of Press Council of India, Justice Markandey Katju has released a statement in which he has blamed unemployment for the rise of rape cases. According to Mr. Katju, ‘sex is a natural urge in men’ and when men don’t receive sex from marriage, because no one wants to marry unemployed men, there is ‘bound to be an increase in rape’.
Apparently, Mr. Katju is not aware that rapists can, and do, belong to all socio-economic backgrounds, and the only reason for rape is a rapist.
Naturally, people called him out for the deeply misogynistic remark:
Women don’t owe it to the world to bear the brunt of unemployment, and men need to know better. If these are the thoughts of Supreme Court judges, then no wonder marital rape is still not considered a criminal offense in India, and crimes against women continue to rise.
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