Last week, a young mother became the victim of a horrific gang rape on Ring Road Lahore. The unfathomable incident has led to public outcry across the nation. Currently trending on Twitter is a call to hang the rapists publicly.
It is beyond imagination that such acts can still occur with no fear of consequences. What’s even worse has been the reaction of the authorities, who have called out the woman for taking an unsafe route and being out so late at night.
The rage of people across the nation has driven them to demand public execution of the rapists to make an example out of them and to show everyone else that such behavior cannot and will not be tolerated.
To me @ImranKhanPTI failed as a PM of Pakistan if you don't #HangRapistsPublically pic.twitter.com/ugsVzAJ4TK
— Mahnoor (@Mahnoor__007) September 11, 2020
Less the 72 hours after the motorway incident, a new case occurs.
Let's wait for the Paki government to say that our demand of public hangings aren't justified. #motorwayincident #hangrapistspublicly #HangRapistsPublically @ImranKhanPTI @fawadchaudhry pic.twitter.com/em09kY8GI0
— Ibrahim (@abdalian7754) September 11, 2020
The outcry around it has clearly not been enough as another similar incident in Gujranwala has come to light, and it’s clear that people want to hold authorities accountable. And although the rage is undoubtedly justified, are public hangings really the final solution?
Some are arguing that they risk becoming a smokescreen. A gesture that while does indeed deliver punishment to those who deserve it, but also simultaneously allows those involved in a much larger rape culture to get away with their role in the matter.
My tweet received abusive attacks from 20 anti-Aurat marchers who were using #hangrapistspublicly One told me he’d be waiting for me on the motorway. This hashtag is a smokescreen to create the illusion of a quick fix to rape culture. There isn’t. https://t.co/jN80OYvcI0
— Sahar Habib Ghazi (@SaharHGhazi) September 11, 2020
This isn’t a one-stop fix. Hanging these rapists will not do anything to fix the fear every woman in the country is feeling right now.
https://twitter.com/asfand/status/1303978116608557057
Let’s not even talk about the way the CCPO reacted. What will public hanging do for him? What will it do to anyone who has the same mindset?
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The police officer who said that the motorway rape victim should not have travelled on that route at night repeats his stance and adds that she (the woman raped in front of her children) thought this was France. And PM Imran’s right hand man, Shehzad Akbar, defends him! pic.twitter.com/z4wWooIY7v
— Syed Talat Hussain (@TalatHussain12) September 10, 2020
Actor Osman Khalid Butt, who is quite vocal about his views on activism and social ongoings shared a thread explaining why executions are not the answer.
I understand the need for swift justice, but you're screaming 'hang the rapists!' as though there's no precedent and this will magically stop rape from happening.
Imran Ali, the man who raped & murdered Zainab in Kasur, was hanged in October '18. – cont'd.— Osman Khalid Butt 🇵🇸 (@aClockworkObi) September 10, 2020
Clearly even capital punishment did 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 to deter future criminals.
This country, its elected officials, our law enforcement agencies need to do their job in protecting women, minorities, even children from such crimes.— Osman Khalid Butt 🇵🇸 (@aClockworkObi) September 10, 2020
'No study has been cited by any lawmaker regarding the deterrent effect of a public execution.
The mere act of a hanging in public, rather than the premises of a jail, does not magically make the system better or the factually guilty face gallows.'https://t.co/SavNpTZaGw
— Osman Khalid Butt 🇵🇸 (@aClockworkObi) September 10, 2020
Solutions to a longer challenging of misogynistic traditions and rape culture are vital. We need to start talking about changes on all levels.
Public hangings will not resolve the issue. If you want to resolve this issue, do following:
1. Separate state from religion
2. Teach sex education in schools
3. Teach men respect women by adopting co-education and by creating avenues of mutual cooperation between men & women. https://t.co/LK0UVarJya— Majid Ur Rehman (@majidurrehman) September 9, 2020
Let’s hope this is a conversation we are never forced to have again. Rape culture needs to end now, but let’s be honest – we all know there is no short term solution. It’s a long battle that we need to start fighting now because otherwise, we’ll be back here again and again.
