March 9
INDIA:
No proposal to introduce death sentence for rapists: Govt:
There is no proposal before the Government to introduce death sentence for
those guilty of rape, Home Minister Shivraj Patil said today.
Responding to supplementaries during Question Hour, he said the Law
Commission and the Committee constituted for making recommendations for
Criminal Justice System have not recommended death penalty for the offence
of rape.
He said existing provisions of the IPC prescribe a sentence up to life
imprisonment in case of offence of rape.
Patil said as per the National Crime Record Bureau statistics, 16,075
incidents of rape were reported in 2001, 16,373 in 2002 and 15,847 in 2003
while till September 2004 these were 12,414.
A bill to deal with persons committing rape was before the Government, he
said adding doubts had been expressed whether a death penalty would bring
down the incidence of rape as many believed that the victim could be
killed.
Answering a supplementary regarding rape cases in the National Capital,
the Home Minister said several steps had been taken including setting up
of a crisis intervention centre, special sessions courts, crime against
women cell and deployment of women police, besides help of NGOs was being
enlisted.
(source: PTI)
NEPAL:
Women activists demand death penalty for rapists
Women activists have said that children should be allowed to use the
mothers surname in the citizen papers. They have also demanded that
rapists be awarded death penalty.
Speaking at the Reporters Club on the occasion of International Womens
Day, social worker Angurbaba Joshi said, "The women must support His
Majesty the King in the nation building process."
She said that the women are still not free to choose their profession. If
the women had proportionate representation in the political as well as
other decision-making sectors, the nation would not have suffered heavily,
she said.
"If the women have access in politics, the social anomalies will be
eliminated," she added. Politician Urmila Aryal said that the women have
to fight for their rights as they are still discriminated in the society.
Politician Roshan Karki said that the Nepalese women stand for peace.
"Peace is a pre-requisite to ending gender discrimination, and the present
environment is favourable for the women to push forward their agendas,"
she said.
Bhim Kumari Budha Magar said that equal rights for women were limited to
documents. Industrialist Shanti Chataut said the women would not be able
to improve their social status until they get their property rights.
Member of Public Service Commission Urmila Shrestha said that the
liberation movement for women should start from their own houses. The
policies made for the women should be put into practice, she added.
First woman artiste Bhuwan Chanda stressed on equal access to education
for women. "They will understand about their rights only if they are
educated," she said.
Actress Bipana Thapa said that equal opportunity to education as well as
property rights are necessary for the development of women.
The 95th International Womens Day was observed in the country Tuesday with
the slogan Gender Equity for Peace and Development of the Country.
Speaking at another programme on Womens Role in the Present Situation,
organised by the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), its chairman Pashupati
Shumser Rana said women were the saviours of the nation and promised
provisions to empower women as well as the disadvantaged groups.
He said that many villages in the country were left without men and youths
and that the women were compelled to struggle and solve the problems on
their own. He said that The RPP was devising policies for the upliftment
of the dalits, indigenous groups, people of the Terai region, women and
other backward communities. "We should be ready to change the governance
system of the country, if need be, to address the problem of
discrimination."
He said that the RPP had devised a strategy to offer reservation for women
in education and employment in the government offices.
Talking about the present situation of the country, Rana said there was no
way out of the crisis minus the Kings role. "the RPP is always in favour
of constitutional monarchy and multi-party democracy," he said.
Spokesperson of the party Roshan Karki said that the Nepali version of
Women's Day gave the message to all women to work in favour of peace and
equity. She said that it was the responsibility of the women to adjust
themselves to the present condition. "The women have played a vital role
whenever the country faced a crisis," Karki said, citing women's
participation in pro-democratic movements of 2007 BS and 2046 BS.
"We cannot imagine the country without a King and the democratic system,"
said Karki, adding, "We should be united to preserve democracy."
Party assistant general secretary Khem Raj Pandit said that this was the
age of empowering women. He said that there was a clear vision in the
party for the participation and empowerment of women.
Central member of RPP Prem Bahadur Bhandari said that women always had an
important role in the development of the country, adding that they should
play a positive and creative role.
(source: Gorkhapatra)
SOUTH AFRICA:
How to replace death penalty?
The Constitutional Court will consider on Thursday how a death sentence
should be replaced by a more appropriate one since the death penalty was
abolished.
The case follows the Constitutional Court's decision in 1995 declaring the
death penalty unconstitutional.
Since then it has been unclear how to deal with the sentences of those
prisoners given the death penalty prior to the 1995 decision.
Previously the case was heard in the Johannesburg High Court, where it
emerged that there were 134 people on death row waiting for their death
sentences to be set aside.
This court held that the section of the Criminal Law Amendment Act dealing
with the setting aside of the death penalty when prisoners had exhausted
all appeal procedures, was unconstitutional.
The court held this was so because the new sentence would be recommended
by a judge in an administrative capacity, not a judge in an open court.
It was also unconstitutional because the law does not clearly say that
evidence must be led in deciding the new sentence.
The new sentence would ultimately be imposed by the president of South
Africa, which would blur the independence of the judiciary.
The applicants - all prisoners on death row - want the Constitutional
Court to confirm the High Court's order.
The State, represented by the director of public prosecutions, would argue
that the applicant's constitutional rights were not infringed, and
therefore the order should not be confirmed.
(source: South Africa Press Agency)
