April 14 : Another chapter of shame : The profile of a rapist
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: April 27 2017 -

Yet another chapter of shame.

What makes the crime all that more disturbing is the point that of the seven accused of raping the two minor girls on April 14, six of them have turned out to be minors or juveniles.

This means that all of them are below the age of 16 and if children as young as under 16 can go to the extent of gang raping two girls, who are also minors, then it is something very, very disturbing.

More than proof that crimes such as rapes and molestation can no longer be identified with the grown up villains that one may have in mind.

So from the stereotype rapist of the man with the mean looking eyes, with a glass of whisky in his hand, today the rapist can be anyone, someone as innocent looking as a child below 16 years of age.

A more than sure indication that rapes know no age boundary and this is where society really need to sit down and ponder how the mentality of the youngsters are being shaped.

True there will be many who may cite the examples of the internet where pornographic material are available at the click of a button, but this is where it has to be conceded that the elders and society as a whole may have miserably failed in keeping a tab on what the youngsters watch and how they spend their free time.

Something, somewhere is terribly wrong and to think that this is happening in a place where a day is set aside every year as Nupi Lan should say something profound.

In many ways this can also be taken as a damning statement on how women are perceived and treated in society.

In as much as the gang rape of April 14 may be seen as the behaviour of some juvenile delinquents, it is also a reflection of how society has failed as a whole to educate the youngsters on some basic human behaviour such as respect for the fairer gender.

Making things worse is the attempt of some voluntary organisations which questioned the behaviour of the two girls.

It is this mindset which needs to be dealt with strongly.

In questioning the behaviour of the rape victims, these organisations may be said to be stating that it is the behaviour of the two young girls which invited the rape.

It is this which is unacceptable.

On the other hand it is also heartening to note that a good number of organisations have come together to strongly condemn the rape of the two young girls.

Now that the accused have been hauled up, it is only right that the different organisations too sit down together and see how to deal with the malaise that has gripped society.

Let the law take its own course, but it is important that some sort of a mechanism is worked out to deal with such a malaise collectively.