Legal Drift

LAW NOT ONLY FOR LAWYERS BUT FOR THE LAYMAN

Health Social Issues World 

The Temples of the Devils: Exorcism Exposed

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“Exorcism of Emily Rose”, a horror classic is based on the true story of Anneliese Michel, a 17 year old girl in Germany who was exorcised by her parents and two priests.  She suffered from schizophrenia which could be treated by medicines. But her parents relied on exorcism rituals to cure her. She died after few days of exorcism due to malnutrition and starvation.

The court observed that because of lack of nutrition her body was unable to recover from the injuries which were result of both exorcism as well as self infliction and awarded all the four accused imprisonment of six months.

Recently a similar instance happened in Kodinar near Rajkot. Farida (36 yrs) died when she was not given food for 22 days and made to sleep on sand under sun by her husband and in-law who believed her to be ‘possessed’.

Epilepsy or Possession

Epilepsy (also known as fits or seizures) results from rapid uncontrolled electrical activities of the brain. This could result in contraction of muscles and loss of consciousness for several minutes. The patient may fall on to floor, shake tremendously, urinate or foam at mouth.

Some people consider these symptoms signs of possession. In places like Mehendi Pur Ke Balaji, Rajasthan many frauds are self proclaimed specialists in treating cases of possession. Due to lack of awareness many people are duped in to this trap.

The treatment is not only orthodox but cruel most of the times. Blowing cow-dung smoke, burning pig excreta, beating or pulling the victim’s hair and reciting prayers or mantras are common. The worst suffers are women patients who are sometimes molested, raped or sexually harassed in name of the ritual.

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Politics Social Issues 

The CRPF will be soon dead

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“Joining CRPF was the biggest mistake of my life. I have realized that the country doesn’t honor its soldiers and it is better to take voluntary retirement after 20 years of service than to be treated as a pawn” says an anonymous CRPF jawan. His opinion reflects the thoughts of thousands of CRPF jawans who have been treated worse than a cattle both by the state and their departments.

Most of the soldiers in the paramilitary forces like Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have lost their faith in the system and think they are being used as scape goats by government in war against the Naxals.

Compared to the army, the paramilitary forces have more to lose than to gain. The job benefits are very low in comparison to the army whereas the chances of death on duty are considerably high.

If we examine the current situation of CRPF, we find that their disillusionment may be justified on various grounds. The problem needs to be seen in context of two major issues :-

1. On-duty deaths

2. Voluntary Retirement Schemes

On-duty deaths

Insurgency is undoubtedly one of the biggest problems in the country. The force is mostly deployed in Naxal effected areas over the last 5 years and has been witnessing the game of life and death everyday. The soldiers are expected to fight insurgents without proper strategic and military support. The encounter with Naxalites is a routine affair for them.

The Naxalites are well aware of the internal areas and they use it to their advantage. They are experts in Guerrilla warfare tactics and successfully trap their prey.  Their strategy is to exhaust enemy’s gun power and inflict maximum damage. First, they fire at the security forces and then take a different way to surround the forces from a different direction. The reinforcements which hardly last some hours are soon exhausted in the encounter. The jawans are left to the mercy of the enemy who never spares them. Various other reasons also contribute to the failure of tackling the Naxal issue.

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Judiciary Legal Mirror Social Issues 

Insight to Bhopal Gas Tragedy: A case lost before trial

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Almost everyone around the globe is aware of the catastrophe that happened in Bhopal but there are a very few people who actually know what were the legal lacunae involved in the Bhopal case. The battle was lost before the trial and the victims were betrayed at every step of legal proceedings.

The Battle in United States

At that time Indian Law had no provision of punitive damages to effectively deal with the Bhopal Gas Tragedy. The Government of India through an act appointed itself the sole representative of the victims for any legal course with Union Carbide with regard to compensation. The act empowered the government with the exclusive rights to represent and act on behalf of the survivors/victims of the gas leak. The corollary was that the victims could not seek legal redress of their own.

Consequently, the Government decided to approach the U.S. District Court to seek justice. The government justified its stand mainly on three grounds:-

The US courts could grant higher compensation as compared to the one likely to be granted by the Indian Courts. It believed that the parent multinational company Union Carbide could be tried effectively in US. The Indian Courts were incompetent to handle mass tort litigation.

Ironically the government ignored the operating principle in US according to which a suit could be maintainable in an American Court only in cases where the damages or injuries occur on American Soil, to American residents or the dependents of American residents. Alternatively, if the prosecution would have proved a design defect in the plant, the suit could have been entertained by the American Courts. But since it was established that the gas leak happened because of poor maintenance, the parent company was not held liable in the US courts.

US Court’s Decision

The US court ruled that UCIL was a separate entity, owned, managed and operated exclusively by Indian citizens in India. Carbide was ordered to submit to the jurisdiction of Indian Courts; nevertheless it could dispute the verdict rendered by the Indian Courts before its domicile courts. Initially the government of India had filled a suit claiming 3 billion Dollars which could have been achieved only through attachment of UCC’s assets in the US.

The Indian Mistakes

A significant order was passed by Justice Deo of Bhopal District court which directed UCC to pay Rs. 350 crores as interim relief. The order being  interim could not be decreed. And without a decree UC could and did refuse to pay it.

On February 14, 1989 the Supreme Court directed Union Carbide to pay up US $ 470 million in “full and final settlement” of all claims, rights, and liabilities arising out of the disaster in 1984. The victims and legal heirs of the dead, were not informed  before this settlement took place.

None of the courts ever directed UCC to reveal any epidemiological information that it had. It refused to render any toxicological information as it formed an integral part of its “trade secrets”. It denied that the gases released during the disaster could cause any adverse health effects in the victims. Moreover, UCC was never ordered to clear the toxic material present on the disaster site which it could have been under the “polluter pays” principle evolved in Oleum Gas Leak Case.

The SC refused to consider UCC liability as unquestionable and absolute. The principle of absolute liability was never evoked by the SC. According to this theory where an enterprise is engaged in a hazardous or inherently dangerous activity and an accident in such an operation results in the escape of a toxic gas, the enterprise is strictly and absolutely liable to compensate all those who are affected by the accident, and such liability is not subject to any of the exceptions under the rule of strict liability.

SECTION 304 TO 304(A)

Originally the charge sheet was filed under Section 304 of IPC i.e. culpable homicide not amounting to murder specially paragraph 2 which deals with the accused having the knowledge that the act would cause death. The charge sheet clearly stated that the UCC plant in Bhopal was deficient in safety and design measures. It further stated that the management was aware of these defects and their probable consequences but it failed to inform the district administration.  In 1996 the two judge SC bench held that the charges under Section 304 were not made out and the accused could only be charged under Section 304(A) for causing death by rash or negligent act. Justice Ahmadi while delivering the judgment observed,

“Even assuming that it was a defective plant and it was dealing with a very toxic and hazardous substance like MIC the mere act of storing such a material by the accused … could not even prima facie suggest that the concerned accused thereby had knowledge that they were likely to cause the death of human beings.”

Hence the diluted charges ensured that accused could now be awarded merely a maximum punishment of 2 years and not 10 years.

How was the UCC benefited?

The long trial benefited UCC in various ways. First of all, the fear of length prompted the government to enter into a swift settlement. Secondly, the adverse public pressure on the government also evaded with time. Lastly, UCC saved interest on the sum it finally had to pay.

Are we still left with a remedy?

1. A curative writ petition must be filed under article 32 r/w 142 of the Constitution to set aside the 1996 judgment; seeking the relief of a fresh trial under Section 304 Pt 2 of IPC.

2. An appeal to the sessions court under Section 377 of CrPc on ground of inadequacy of sentence because of lesser charge under Section 304 A IPC can also be filed.

3. Pursuing Extradition is significant for the effective trial of Warren Anderson.

4. Civil Liability of both the government and the UCC needs to be re-addressed. Cleaning of the affected area, proper medical treatment of the victims and distribution of compensation are some of the vital steps that need to be taken.

Conclusion

Bhopal Gas Tragedy is aptly referred to as the night that never ended. The long legal battle benefited none but the accused. The victims were continuously victimized by the fluctuating judgments rendered in the country. The media, bar, bench, authorities, central and state governments all failed to effectively fulfill their responsibilities.

“The greatest disaster in India was not on day of Bhopal Gas Tragedy but on the occasion, when we failed to protect our own countrymen and decided to sell the living dead to a multinational for some dollars.”

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Male Rapes – Some Myths, Statistics, True Incidents and Legal Insight

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A True Story

Is Rape attempted only on females? I would request you to think again. Male rapes are not fiction created in novels and movies. What happened in Shawshank Redemption can happen to anyone at any place.

Shikhar (name changed) was popular at his college for being a philanderer. He had multiple girlfriends and at age of 22, he had everything a student could aspire for. He shared his room with two of his classmates. His relations with them were not cordial. He had some unresolved issues with them. One night when he was sleeping, he realized that his room mates were tying him to the bed. He was repeatedly raped (sodomised) by both of them that night.

The incident changed Shikhar’s life completely. Even after two years, he hasn’t dated any girl or talked about sex with his friends. The very talk of sex upsets him. He also tried attempting suicide once to get rid of miserable life. Only two of his friends were aware of what happened to him that night, but even they were unable to console him in this situation. Similar to other instances of male rapes, the matter went unreported.

Male Rapes: Some Shocking Statistics

About 10% of rape victims are men. Findings From the National Violence Against Women Survey, US points out that 71% of male victims were first raped before their 18th birthday; 16.6% were 18-24 years old, and 12.3% were 25 or older. U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics (1999) estimated that 91% of rape victims are female and 9% are male Human Rights Watch Report suggests that 22% of male inmates have been raped at least once during their incarceration; i.e. around 420,000 prisoners each year.

History of Male Rapes

In some societies the victorious soldiers were given a right to rape the defeated enemy. The act demonstrated a total control over the defeated warrior. It was believed that whether consensual or forced a male who has carnal intercourse looses his manhood and is thus incapable of becoming a ruler or warrior. Gang Rapes of a male as a punishment was awarded for crimes like adultery in Rome and Violating the sanctity of Harems in Persia and Iran.

Who are the Victims?

Most of the people believe that males are victims of rapes only in jails, prisons and hostels but statistics reveal that these are not the only places where males get traumatized. A large number of males become victim of sexual assaults and forced sodomy in their own houses, pubs and armed forces.

The perpetrators avail the benefit of their victim’s vulnerable condition. A popular notion prevails that a male is supposed to protect himself and if he fails, he has lost his manhood. Like most of the rape victims, these victims start holding themselves responsible to the injustice done to them. The thought that “they have lost their manhood” results in their continuous victimization. Most of them start doubting themselves and may even fail to have healthy sexual lives with their spouses. A very few cases of male rapes are actually reported. The offense is considered difficult to prove and the perpetrators are often acquitted. Out of 852 cases that were reported to police in the UK, only 44 perpetrators were prosecuted. Ironically, the victim who confesses that he had been raped or sexually assaulted is punished by the entire society. The feeling of guilt and shame makes him detest himself and his very existence. The rape is not only committed on his body but also on his mind, soul and spirit.

Indian Penal Code and Male Rape

Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code is the only section that criminalized all acts of carnal intercourse. The section penalizes both consensual and forced sodomy. The minimum punishment awarded of such crimes 10 years which may extend to life imprisonment. The Delhi HC in its leading judgment of Naz Foundation v. Government of NCT and Ors stated that the provisions of Section 377 I.P.C will continue to govern non-consensual penile, non-vaginal sex and penile non-vaginal sex involving minors. Even if the judgment is upheld by the honorable SC, the section can be evoked to punish sodomists, pedophiles and zoophiles.

The only laws that remotely address to the problems of child assault in  the country are sections 376, 377 of Indian Penal Code and some sections  of the Information Technology Act, 2000.  But there is no specific law that can punish pedophiles or can compensate the victims of such events.

The Section 375 of Indian Penal Code does not include males as rape victims. Recently the government decided to amend the definition of rape and replace it with sexual assault instead. They believe that the amendment would give the section a wider jurisdiction and scope. But it is criticized that the proposed amendment would further harm the interests of the rape victims.

Conclusion

It is unfortunate that till now people associate manhood with sexuality. Manhood is not lost by a victim who was sodomized but it is lost rather it does not exist in the perpetrator who committed this heinous act.  It is a myth that only gay men commit such crimes. The offender can be bisexual, straight or homosexual. India definitely needs separate laws to deal with male rape or forced sodomy and child assault. Majority of such crimes remain unreported and therefore awareness must be spread in this regard. The benefits availed by female rape victims under the Cr.Pc must be also extended the male victims. Helplines and Online-help can be provided which may prove helpful in providing psychiatric help to them.

Ignoring Male Rapes won’t change anything but accepting it would surely make a difference.

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Judiciary Social Issues 

Selling their bodies killing their souls: Plight of widows in Vrindavan and Mathura

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Sati as a practice was not invented by Ancient Indian texts but by the greed of people. Most of the contemporary historians believe that the practice of Sati was encouraged to deprive the widows from the property of their deceased husbands. Family members (usually the surviving brothers of the deceased) cloaked their desires under the shadow of religion. Hinduism was used as a weapon to rightly ask for the lives of innocent widowed women. The women under societal pressure were made to self immolate themselves. This served twin purposes; the family was no longer entitled to maintain the widow and her sacrifice ensured that the share of her deceased husband would revert to the surviving members.

It is a privilege to state; the evil practice of Sati is no longer practiced in India. But at the same time it is a shame to admit that the condition of Hindu widows has turned worse with time. Even today most of the widows in the country are abounded from their houses. They have no place to go. They are unable to maintain themselves and thus are forced to take refuge under the Vidhwa ashrams.

Most of the ashrams in the country are situated in the holy cities of Vindravan and Mathura. It is estimated that Vrindavan has more than 4,000 temples and ashrams with about 2,957 widows living in them. The widows seek shelter in the ashrams for various reasons most of them being abounded or sexually abused by their family members believe that holy places like these would help them to attain salvation and would bring them nearer to god. Many regard Vrindavan as the only place where they can live and die peacefully with the protection of all mighty.

Unfortunately these ashrams do not have much to offer. Majority of the widows are seen begging on the streets or soliciting for earning their livelihood. Ashrams encourage practices of prostitution and sexual abuse to gauge funds and finance.  The young widows are often supplied to rich customers by the ashram itself in lieu of a heavy sum. The ashrams are scattered with diseases like tuberculosis, STD’s and dysentery. There is inadequate number of toilets in most of the places. There is lack of proper sewage system and non-availability of running water in these places. The widows are forced to live in an unhygienic and unhealthy environment. They are unaware of the widow pension and health schemes and hardly take benefit of it. Recently issued report by National Commission for Women states that 80% of them are illiterate whereas 60% of them are above 60 years of age. Most of these old widows (even those who are unable to walk properly) have to climb stairs to reach their rooms. Some of them are too old to even cook for themselves. They are forced to sleep on pieces of jute sacks. They are neither supplied with blankets nor hot water in winters. Moreover there is no institutional support for cremation of the dead bodies. The necessities in today’s life are a luxury for these unfortunate ones.

The PIL filed by advocate Mr. Ravindra Bana in the Supreme Court in November 2008 had brought the grievances of this marginalized section in limelight. Supreme Court had issued directions to NCW for conducting a survey in this regard. After much delay NCW has finally released its report on the plight of these widows. It is disheartening that in spite of various initiatives by the government hardly any benefit is availed by these women. The report said “As per records of the district welfare office, 2,819 women received old age pension and 892 widow pensions. However, among the 225 randomly interviewed women 68 per cent were found without pensions and 58 per cent without ration cards.”

The Sevadasi system (service done to the rich and powerful pilgrims are seen as a form of piety) prevalent in these institutions, further encourage practices of trafficking and prostitution. Under this system, the widows are supposed to offer every service to please the owners of Dharamshalas and Bhajan Ashrams in which sex is also included. The Bhajan ashrams offer these widows to earn Rs 3 to 4 a day and some meagre ration, if they assemble in the bhajan ashrams to sing bhajans (devotional songs) in mornings and evenings. The food, shelter and clothing of these destitute women depend on the mercy of these ashrams and some courteous travellers.

Most of the widows who reach these Bhajan ashrams belong to West Bengal and Bangladesh.  The government of U.P. and W.B. have failed to take any collaborative steps to improve the situation of these widows. The widow pension granted by U.P. government is Rs.1, 800 a year, or Rs.150 a month. Although on records it seems that this meagre amount is serving its purpose, in reality it is not. The shelter homes built by the government have only provided limited relief to them. The government has turned a blind eye towards the illegal practices observed in these ashrams. Deepa Mehta who directed ‘Water’, the film which through a fictional story depicted the miseries of the widows living in these ashrams had to face opposition from all sections of the society. The close nexus between politics and religious bigots has always proved dreadful. If the government actively opposes the practices in Vrindavan, it would face opposition from both public and religious leaders. Most of the widows being uneducated become vulnerable. The victims are scared to raise their voices against the Dharamshalas and Bhajan Ashrams as they know they have no other place to go. It is very important that the widows are made aware of their legal and constitutional rights. The pensions must be increased and should duly reach the beneficiaries. Some part of the tourism revenue earned from Mathura and Vrindavan must be utilized for the upliftment of these widows. The welfare legislations like Hindu Succession (Amendment 2005) Act and Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 have definitely ensured that widows are not deprived of their husband’s property. But unfortunately these widows are found unaffected by the legal developments around the country. They must be provided with vocational training. Psychological and medical help must be made available to them. Medical facilities and hygienic conditions must be ensured in these ashrams. The number of government shelter homes must be increased. Above all citizens must be made aware of the injustices done to this vulnerable section. A public pressure can indeed bring considerable changes in these places. I seriously think by selling the bodies of these pious women, the ashrams are killing their souls and somewhere I hold everyone of us responsible for this injustice.

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Judiciary Media Social Issues 

Does justice look this monstrous?

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Whatever little bit of respect I had for some of the ‘mainstream’ media, is shrouded in agitation today. Almost every channel from one of the acclaimed ‘world-democracy’ flashed the news of ‘ Kasab sentenced to death – justice served’. It is of great misfortune that common brains are being fed with such contaminated views and disdain prevails in our thoughts and comprehensions. I do not want to get into the legal implications of the trial or the verdict and nor the sentence is of much of sensation as almost everyone knew the outcome of the trial. But the larger question seems to be that would we ever be able to see justice beyond injustices and retribution? While I agree that law enforcement has to fulfill its responsibilities to protect the citizens of a country, at the same time I think the civil society of a ‘democratic nation’ should deconstruct the given rhetoric that is made to believe as absolute legal truth and should shed light on the unseen and untold and at least attempt to free the incarcerated notions of justice.

Can justice be this monstrous? I do not think so. There are two debates, the former is the carnage instigated by the so called ‘terrorists’ on 26/11 in Mumbai and the latter is the debate on how to find solutions and solidify the concept of justice for the ones who suffered and the ones who will suffer. However, the enraged, disillusioned and infected brains seem to have sacrificed the latter over the politics of the former. I have to admit that I have no relationship with the person in question, but have huge stakes in how the concept of justice is formed and reformed through misdeeds of individual’s predatory acts. However, if we go beyond the individuals, we will be able to explore the bouts of mistrust, agony and contingent injustices that exist in systems and social spaces in which these individuals are socialized, poised and monopolized.

There is no doubt that we live in the times of increased contentions and violence among diverging agendas and politics, but we are tempted to victimize the victim rather than curbing the agenda and politics that create and recreate violence and culminate the end of humanity. I can never reconcile the two, that by sentencing a young victim, we will scare anyone else who would plan to do the same. Ironically, the same argument can be used by the fathers of terror to attract more young voices in avenge. Indeed, some of our experiences in Afghanistan reveal that militants have been able to gin up support from youth when the youth were emotionally provoked after seeing the injustices and violence of the government systems and their allies.

I could not believe to hear Haroon Hamid of the DAWN Media Group replying to an audience question on NDTV show (6th May 2010) with Barkha Dutt that ‘terrorism is created in Afghanistan and Pakistan is a victim of it as well as India’. I wondered what happened to the media ethics of the news channels that he run, if nothing else matters to him including the truth. He didn’t even try to unravel the systematic, political and social space that gave birth to discontent and violence transformed into terrorism through the weapons of the same system in Pakistan and the region rather than indulging into a merely political blame game. While the political agendas of some groups and factions entail creating terror and monopolize on religious and nationalistic sentiments of masses, there is an enabling environment that embraced and accepts the invitation and both the agenda and the enabling environment have a symmetrical relationship with the terror and violence that we see in Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. Let’s also not forget and not trivialize the dynamics of social spaces in which we live and see others live, that foster reprisal and revolt by witnessing chronic poverty, famine and increased gaps between different members of the same society. The fragmentation of social spaces within the feudal society as a creation of the capitalist market paradigm that embodies injustice and tremendous rage among youth that not only created Kasab but hundreds of Kasabs in the making. However, for sure any struggles to absolve the process would be trying to rupture the status quo, something that the gatekeepers of the feudal society and their political agenda’s will not allow or approve of and we will be getting used to death sentence of one after another and would have accepted that justice is rendered. Unfortunately, the emerging trajectories do suggest that in quest of conformity with the popular imagination of our ‘independent’ media, we will not be able to recognize the just face of justice anymore but will seek satisfaction in more resentment, discontent and retribution.

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Improper postmortem can lead to the death of justice

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A dead body was found in a remote village of Madhya Pradesh. It had been discovered in a well after seven days of the death of the deceased. It was in a heinous condition and the people were even scared to look at it. The matter was reported to the police. The constable went running to the house of the government doctor who was posted in the village.

There was party organized at his house. Everyone a couple of doctors, their wives and children were enjoying some quality time with each other.

The news was indeed pleasure to none. The other doctors immediately decided to leave the party as if the doctor on duty was disowned by the whole community.

The doctor also realized the pain and trouble he had to undertake to carry on his duty. Therefore he choose a convenient way out. Instead of fulfilling his duty deligently, he decided to stay and delegate his work to the drunk peon in the hospital. Consequently, the report lacked necessary details which could have been sufficient to arrest and prosecute the guilty. This is a true story was narrated by Dr. Satpati (a leading medical expert in postmortem).

The story is not a myth but an ignored reality. In most of the cases the accused is given the benefit of doubt due to lack of evidence. The laxity of police officials, investigating team and medical experts are the prime reasons for injustice and judicial failures.

The concern raised in the story mostly deals with the disinterest doctors have in examining dead bodies and rape victims. It is important to note why doctors are disinterest in carrying on their duties? The answer is simple conducting postmortem is not exactly the part of their duties. India lacks medical experts in areas of postmortem and rape. Thus these duties are often delegated to a government doctor who is on duty in a village or district.

The traditional Indian notions that dead bodies are to be dealt only by untouchables, still exists in the mindsets of the people. Hence like everyone else, the doctors also try to ignore or delegate their duties to not so expert “drunk peons”. The results are disastrous, it not only provides an easy exit to the offender but also results in gross miscarriage of justice.

Another problem which must be addressed is the lack of knowledge in legal practitioners about forensic science. Most of the times the judge, the lawyer and the accused have no knowledge to check the veracity of a medical experts testimony. Moreover the language of law is alien to the medical experts and the medical language is a stranger to the lawyers. This communication gap often leads to miscarriage of justice. The medical experts are aware that it is difficult to challenge their opinion and even if they act ignorant, careless or venal they have almost no accountability.

Dr Satpati in his lecture told that it is easy to discover truth, if proper investigation is undertaken and minute details are noticed. A connection must be established between the wound and injury to the weapon discovered. The difference in pattern of wounds can be used to figure out the number of weapons and thereby helping in deducing the number of attackers. The pattern of wounds are also helpful in deciding veracity of cases specially when the wounds are self-inflicted. The date of infliction of injury can be figured out by noticing the color of the wound. The color of the wound changes in the VIBGYOR pattern similar to that of the rainbow. Thus a corresponding link can be established between the day of the crime and the time elapsed thereof.

It is unfortunate that most of the times the evidence is not destroyed by perpetrators but by the guardians of justice. This defect can be cured only by appointing some more medical experts who specialize in  areas of rape and postmortem. A collaboration must be developed between the legal (judges, students and lawyers) and medical experts. This must be initiated by imparting some basic knowledge on medical forensics to law students. Medical ethics is a term which is more related to field of medicine than medicines itself. The medical experts must not only treat it as their professional duty but also their moral duty. It is not the interest of the dead that they keep at stake. It is the faith of millions who believe in the medico-legal system that is risked.

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Different faces of prostitution in Afghanistan

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Prostitution is not an easily accepted reality in our society. Most of the time, we are in denial that in Muslim societies women do not sell their bodies for money, even if they do, no one will buy. It is actually the opposite, even if a woman does not want, the societal miseries make her do anything for survival and livelihood of the family. While Prostitution in many other parts of the world could be understand as a woman’s sexual desire and of her immoral character; the truth behind it is hardly explored.While prostitution is illegal and anyone found guilty would be punished severely, but the law only punishes the woman rather than removing societal pressures that make women embrace prostitution as means of survival.

In my work on women’s issues in Afghanistan, I came across many women who have at least once sold their bodies to earn a living either forced by a family member or in secret. However, I chose to write about these three women I met three years ago in an old city of Kabul. These three different women have at least one thing in common, that even in a closed traditional and religious society, they were made to be prostitutes, either in public or in secret.

A couple of years ago, I was on a monitoring visit to a rehabilitation center for drug addicts and during the distribution of medical kits for the rehabilitated patients, noticed three women getting the medicine who didnt seem as patients. They were quiet well-dressed and the red lipstick was shining on the faces. When asked about their addiction, I found out that these three are not addict, they come to take the medicines because it can help them overcome the mental trauma they are going through….and someone whispered to me”these three are prostitutes”….. I tried to probe into their life stories and after almost two weeks of talking to them, here is a short summary of their stories :

Rahima, the eldest of the three women was 38 years old and mother of 4 daughters and a son. She returned from Iran in 2004 and has been living in her in laws house. The house was big, scary and ruined during the civil war. Her husband was an iron smith but when they were in Iran, he became a drug addict and could no more provide any living for the family. Rahima remembers the first time that she knew her body could earn her a living was the offer of her husband’s friend, when he came as a guest to their home. That was when Rahima had two of her daughters in the hospital because awild dog had bit them. She said that the clinic asked her to buy two vaccines worth of 6,000 Afghanis to save her daughters and when she sought assistance from her husband’s old friend, he offered her 5000 Afghanis for one night and a promise to find more clients as she earns more experience in this field. Rahima had no other options and accepted and she said, he was the only man she knew who was so loyal to fulfil his promise.

Negine, was the tallest and the most beautiful of the three women. She was around 35 years old and had been living with her father. Initially, I couldnt believe that it was her father who made her a home-based earning prostitute. She said, he died in a fortunate suicide attack last year in Kabul but she continued paying attributes to his legacy. Negine’s father was a cook in a Police Teaching Academy in one of the central provinces and whenever he came home, he used to bring a high ranking police official to their home and she was made to stay with that prestigious guest and entertain him. In his lifetime, Negine could never get out of the house and it was the father who bought her beautiful clothes and make up and encouraged her to look attractive to his superiors. Negine said that her father’s sudden death left a big shop that was built on her money and she could live a better life with that income,but after so many years of entertaining the high ranking police chiefs, she is kind of used to this way of life. She said, she likes when a high rank officer obeys her orders.

Shahperai, the youngest of the three was around 15 years of age. She said, she found herself on the streets since she remembers. Shahperai was a very outgoing, and loud young girl. She used to make fun of everything and it seemed that she had nothing to regret in her life. Shahperai recalled her first experience of using her body to earn money in the busy streets of the expat bazaar, Chicken street of Share Naw, Kabul. She said some three years ago, while cleaning a car in a car park, two men came closer to her and said ” we will pay you – if you show us….” and since then she has been earning through displaying and selling her body.

These were the three women with a summary of their stories. I am sure there are many other untold similar experiences fearing the hypocratic society. We need to accept these realities and be able to confront these injustices inflicted on women.

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Health Legal Mirror Technology 

Decoding the D.N.A legislation in India

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The forensic technology has played an integral role in solving criminal cases. D.N.A (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) tests, first discovered by Prof. Alec Jeffreys in 1985 in England has now become a credible source for identifying a person with the help of his blood, hair, sperm, muscle, nerve or tissue sample. Sometimes when the victims resist, they scratch their attackers, in such cases skin cells underneath the victim’s fingernails are extracted to identify the criminal. Compared to a blood test, the possibility of a D.N.A finger printing going wrong is one in 30,000 million.

D.N.A fingerprinting: – How is it done?

Specimens are collected from the crime scene. The DNA is isolated and cut to match against other samples. Subsequently, the strands are placed on a gel and an electric current passed through it The samples are then matched with the existing records of offender, arrested people and suspects.

DNA profiling narrows the list of suspects that authorities need to work through. The FBI commented that DNA profiling allows them to dismiss one-third of rape suspects because the DNA samples do not match. Authorities recognize the possibility of specimens being planted at crime scenes, and therefore continue to investigate the crime based on motive, weapon, testimony, and other clues in order to more accurately solve the case.

Law Regarding D.N.A testing in India as compared to other countries :-

India has no specific legislation or provision related to D.N.A testing. There is no provision under the Hindu Marriage Act, Indian Evidence Act, CrPc or CPC which a party could be compelled to submit one’s blood sample for examination. In such cases the court is bound to invoke Section 151, C.P.C for giving appropriate directions in the larger interest of Justice. Fortunately the courts have been instrumental in considering D.N.A tests as credible evidence from 1989.

However, countries like Australia, Canada and U.S.A have specific legislation related to DNA forensics.

The (Canada) D.N.A Identification Act, 1998 provides for the constitution of National D.N.A databanks. The act empowers judge to order persons for designated offences to provide D.N.A samples to derive D.N.A profile. The databanks help the investigative agencies in eliminating or identifying suspects or detecting serial offenders. U.K. Criminal Justice Act, 1995; provides that a blood sample for a D.N.A test may be taken forcibly by a court.

Loopholes in the present Legal System:-

1. It is on the discretion of the courts to consider D.N.A tests as a conclusive proof.

2. India has less number of D.N.A experts as compared to other developed countries. Moreover they are deprived of proper training, adequate laboratories, professional respect and perks.

3. The police is lacks the requisite knowledge of evidence collection from crime site. Most of the time the evidence is either ignored or destroyed.

4. The judges and lawyers lack forensic acumen and can be manipulated.

5. Even if evidence is send for D.N.A testing, the laboratories like F.S.L never produce the forensic reports on time.

6. Unlike Canada and Australia, we do not have a provision for National D.N.A Data bank.

7. Forcible blood test for D.N.A testing is not available in India.

8. It is often contended that the D.N.A testing violates the right to privacy of an individual.

9. Post-convict D.N.A tests are not recognized under the Indian law.

10. The power to issue directions for conducting D.N.A tests entirely rests on the court.

Recommendations

India definitely requires legislation in this regard. A D.N.A specialist must be given the status of an expert. They should be provided with adequate training and equipment. The number of laboratories must be increased. Moreover law students, lawyers, police and judges must obtain some official training and knowledge in D.N.A testing. The generation of forensic reports must be made time-bound. A D.N.A test must be not considered violation of individual’s right to privacy guaranteed under the constitution. There is a need for constitution of a National D.N.A data bank in the country. Before granting the right to D.N.A testing to post-convict, it must be ensured that the same is not misused by the prisoners.

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Social Issues World 

Suicide Bombers “Married to Death”

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The two female suicide bombers who were responsible for the metro attacks in Moscow, were the widows of former terrorists. It is believed that about 30, “black widows” were trained by the Russian Bin Laden to carry more of such attacks in future.

The presence of suicide bombers has become a matter of grave concern through out the world. Suicide attackers are not driven by the motivation to die but  by the zeal to kill others.

These fearless  terrorists are often misconceived to be mentally retarded or abnormal, but the psychological studies have proved that they are perfectly normal people who are determined to do things differently.

In the modern era, suicide bombings were initiated in the Second World War by Japanese troops. The “Kamikaze” was used as a strategy to instill terror in the minds of the terror. Takijiro Onishi, who was leading the air force in Manila, used the technique of intentional crashing of aircraft by the inexperienced pilots.

1970’s witnessed the resurrection of suicide bomb attacks in Islamic Terror groups.  Hizb’allah used suicide bombings against  Israel.  Ayottah Khomeini (Iranian Spiritual Leader) re-interpreted the Shia Cult of martyrdom. And hence propagated the concept of suicide committed for religious causes. Hamas is another group operative in Palestine which has carried out numerous attacks including Gaza strip attack and Christmas Day Attack in Jerusalem.

Religion may not be the sole purpose of carrying out such attacks. L.T.T.E which was operative in Sri Lanka used the suicide attacks for accomplishing its political motives.

Reasons for becoming Suicide Bombers:

1. Poverty

2. Conditioning done by the terrorist groups that starts from the very early age of an individual.

3. The myth of martyrdom and the posthumous acclamation associated with it.

4. The manipulation jihad and other religious beliefs (like it would open the doors of heaven).

5. The assurance of the terrorist groups to support their families and promise to reward them with both cash and honor.

6. The internalization of terrorist ideology in the minds of the bombers.

7. Values of the cultural societies (in Lebanon and Palestine the suicide bombers are treated with the stature of martyrs). It is estimated that more than 30% of Palestinians support suicide bombers.

8. Revenge ( eg. Black Widows)

9. To bring attention to the demands of the terrorist groups.

10. The urge to follow the footsteps of a charismatic leader, friend or family member.

How is it carried out?

In Gaza, a game “shuhada” is staged by children on streets to offer mock funeral offerings to the suicide bombers (identified as martyrs by them). The children identify with them as their heros and ideals. Usually vulnerable children like them are carefully selected by a terrorist organization.

They are then divided into small groups which is presided by a teacher. Gradually the youngsters are transformed in to weapons of destruction. They are left with no sense of individualism and identity. The ultimate motive is to be an asset to the group. During their training, the candidates have to observe complete abstinence from women and sex. They are taught only selected religious texts from the Arabic Quran. No one; not even the parents of a bomber are informed about his missions.

Suicide Terrorism requires a very few means and little preparation. A determined perpetrator and an effective explosive is all that is needed. It is both cost-effective and more impact-oriented.

Impact of Suicide Terrorism:-

Places like embassies, shopping malls, railway stations, restaurants, buses, parks and posh streets are the most common targets of such attacks. It serves three purposes of the terrorists i.e.

1. Greater chances of causing more damage and causalities.

2. The probability of being caught is comparatively less.

3. A much greater impact of the general public. The terrorized people usually think, “If I’m not safe here, then where can I expect security?”

A terror attack is generally accompanied with two counter-responses by the masses. Most of the people express patriotic sentiments on the advent of such grave happening. Contrary to this, people also doubt the ability of their governments to protect them. Russia and Israel face suicide terrorism on continuous basis. The people in these countries not only possess hostile feelings for the minorities but also advocate stringent governmental action against the terrorists.

The mass public response after such heinous attacks has often empowered the government to take harsh steps. The American Patriot Act being one such example. Sri Lanka also enacted a legislation in 1979 through which it could hold any person under arrest  for 18 months without trial.

One of the major problems with regard to suicide bombers is that since they target civilians, in most of the western countries they are tackled by the police and not by the military. To prevent such attacks more and more public places must be guarded. The victims and their families must be provided with immediate medical help. The reconstruction of normal life is very important. The government must take initiatives to regain the trust of the masses.

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