Delhi rape case death penalty verdict ‘misguided and naive’

Source – khaleejtimes.com

The decision to uphold the death penalty for the four accused in the 2012 Delhi gang rape has “blinded the world yet again”. 

These are the sentiments of Leslee Udwin, director of the controversial 2015 documentary, ‘India’s Daughter’.

Speaking to Khaleej Times from her home in London, Udwin said now the death penalty is handed down for rape, perpetrators will kill their victims so they cannot identify them.

“It is misguided and naive to think this verdict won’t lead to more murders. These people don’t value the victim’s life enough to rape them, so it is just a small step to kill them.”

More than four years after 23-year-old female medical student, Jyoti Singh, was beaten, gang raped, and tortured in a private bus in Delhi, the Supreme Court in India upheld a decision on Friday last, which will see Akshay Thakur, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Mukesh Singh, hang.

But for Udwin, the decision is merely putting bandages on the wounds. It is simply a case of “making an example of the few to deter the many”.??

With Friday’s verdict elevating the case to “rarest of rare” status, Udwin called it “unfathomable”.

“I spent 31 hours interviewing seven rapists in Tihar Jail (Delhi) for ‘India’s Daughter’. One man spoke openly of his part in gang raping a 4-year-old street girl. Another spoke of a girl who had her eyes gorged out following a rape. So on what basis do you look at one rape case and say it is the ‘rarest of rare”?

She said no case is of less importance, it was simply the public outrage of the December 16, 2012 case that earned it this status. But to believe that sentencing these men to death is a solution to violence against women is wrong.

“This decision is hopeless. It is utterly clear that what these men did was wrong, but not one of these men felt empathy. By sentencing them to death is taking energy away from where the energy should be focused. We need value-based education, teaching people emotional intelligence, empathy, so crimes like this don’t happen.” ??As someone who is “against the death penalty full stop”, Udwin said meeting violence with violence is not the answer.

“These four men will hang next month and the sentiment now is ‘problem solved’, but this is not a problem solved. It is not going to make any jolt of difference and I think there is a strong argument that it could make matters worse.”

She said what is dangerous about awarding the death penalty for rape here is that is throws the spotlight on these perpetrators as rotten apples in a barrel. But it is the barrel that is rotten.

“The vast majority of people in this world are programmed by discriminatory thinking. We have taught these men how to think. Where were we in these men’s childhoods, as governments, as systems of education that have a duty to educate these kids? Who taught these kids that girls cannot enjoy a 6.30pm movie with a friend? They were taught that a girl is of less value.”

And to address the issue, we need to educate, not murder and violate.

“Whether it is the lethal injection in America, the electric chair, or hanging in India, the death penalty is not a deterrent. Decades have shown us that, because humans continue to commit crimes.”

Instead of ignorantly turning the telescope the other way, Udwin said we need to stop looking to punishment as an answer, and instead find the root cause behind these heinous acts.

“The bottom line is; this death penalty is going to further lead people to look in the wrong direction. How many more people are going to be bombed in the world? How many more people are going to die senselessly? If these four men hang or not, it won’t make a difference.”

Unedited version of banned documentary in pipeline

When Udwin released her hour-long documentary, ‘India’s Daughter’ back in 2015, she said it was the country’s vigor to stand up for women’s rights that compelled her to make the film.??

But soon after the release, it was banned in India.

“Many, including feminists, argued that the documentary be banned because it could have interfered with Supreme Court judgement. Well how about the hysteria of the country interfering with the case, or the judge being influenced by a nation baying for these men’s blood”

Udwin said those who have seen film need to remember that they have a “very privileged view on how people who rape think”.

“They shouldn’t pass that over because we don’t often hear that side. This was their chance to find out why they did it. It was an opportunity to try and unravel this mindset.”

But now the verdict is out, she said she will be releasing an unedited version of the documentary – though the release date is to be decided. “This will be done with careful thought. I need time to pull it together but it will contain evidence that would have been potentially viewed as new evidence in court.”

After 16 hours of intense interviews with Mukesh Singh, Udwin said she became privy to a whole host of new information.

“I heard particular evidence which I had to run by various lawyers in order to check whether it could change a judgment. They said it could, so I had to leave it out. It would have been irresponsible of me to reveal it. But I think it is important to look at how we have viewed this case. That’s why I want to release the unedited version.”