India’s Cabinet has passed an executive order to make the rape of a girl under age 12 punishable by the death penalty as national outrage grows over sexual violence in the country. The order was approved Saturday at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The executive order also increased the minimum punishment for female rape from seven years in prison to 10 years, expandable up to life imprisonment, and introduced measures to speed up court proceedings in rape cases. Forensic rape kits will be provided to police stations and hospitals, and specialist labs will be set up exclusively to handle rape cases, the ministry said.
The head of the Delhi Commission for Women, Swati Maliwal, began a hunger strike on April 13 to push for stricter laws for rape in India, including the death penalty. She welcomed the news but said her protest was not over. “I congratulate people of this country for this victory,” she said. “Very few protests have achieved so much in such less time. But until something concrete happens, I will not give up. Until a system is there which ensures safety for the last girl, I won’t give up.”
Following the outcry over the 2012 gang rape and death of 23-year-old physiotherapy student Jyoti Singh, the central government passed legislative reforms known as the Nirbhaya Act. The act saw increased penalties for sexual violence. However, incidents of sexual violence continued to shock the country. Around 100 sexual assaults are reported to police in India every day, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.
Modi spoke out about rape in his country saying,”A rape is a rape. How can we tolerate this torture with our daughters? You are always questioning your daughters, why don’t you ask the same questions to your sons? I believe this is the evil of not just the individual but also of the society,” he said.
