Ensure Justice For Rape Victim

A couple of days ago, a female in her 20s revealed a beauty pageant organiser drugged and raped her at a Kathmandu hotel when she was 16. Though the incident took place eight years ago, the way she described the perpetration of rape against her showed that she suffered excruciating pain and anguish for so many years. She has now gathered the courage to speak out against her offender(s). Details of the alleged rape recounted by the victim on social media have sent her sympathisers, pro-women activists, leaders, civil society members and others up in arms against the alleged rapist(s). They held protest rallies in various parts of the capital seeking justice for the victim and punishment for the perpetrators. 

Nepali Congress general secretary and lawmaker Gagan Kumar Thapa also joined the call for justice for the victim. He raised the matter in the House of Representatives while Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota urged the government to take necessary steps to address the issue. People using different social media platforms have also raised the issue, saying that young rape survivors must get justice at any cost, thus piling pressure on the authorities to take appropriate action against sexual predators. Responding to the public appeal, the government on Friday formed a five-member body to investigate the alleged rape case.

The alleged rape incident has however brought to fore the country's laws and Acts related to rape which are regarded ineffective in addressing the issue of rape. The statute of limitations, as mentioned in Section 229 (2) of the National Penal Code, states that no complaint shall lie after a lapse of one year from the date of commission of any offences under Section 219, which prohibits committing rape. It clearly shows that our laws are ineffective in dealing with crimes like rape. The time bar, as mentioned in the penal code, has created a dilemma for rape survivors in getting justice. Thanks to this law, many rape survivors do not file cases with the police and suffer silently. 

In the case of the pageant victim, the law-warranted one-year limitation has already expired. This has irked activists, the media, civil society members, leaders as well as the people at large. They have demanded that reforms should be brought to the laws on rape.  Nepali Congress central member and the spouse of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba, echoed the same demand. She raised her voice that there should not be any time limit for filing the rape case and, therefore, the existing law be amended. The alleged rape case of the beauty pageant victim should be fast-tracked so that the victim would get justice in time. Dr. Deuba argued that since many criminal cases are allowed to be reported even after the lapse of many years, rape cases should also be allowed to be filed at any time. The rape survivors live with physical and mental scars throughout their life. They require justice in time from authorities. Besides, they need love and care, goodwill and a positive attitude from all members of society. This will certainly help heal all forms of scars a survivor suffered through rape and start leading life normally as other members of society.