بسم هللا الرحمن الرحيم Politicians in the World’s Largest Democracy Make Light of Rape - Raising the Question: How can Any Woman have Trust in the Secular System to Protect their Dignity? On Tuesday 1st July, the media reported on statements by the Indian MP Tapas Pal from the Trinamool Congress Party, who threatened rape of female relatives of a rival political party. The outrageous remarks were made at an address to followers and were caught on video. Trinamool Congress is the 4th largest party in the Indian parliament and rules over the state of West Bengal. This is just the latest of a series of derogatory, insensitive comments made by Indian politicians from various parties regarding rape. In April, Mulayam Singh Yadav, leader of the Samajwadi Party which rules India’s biggest state, Utter Pradesh where there has been a spate of sexual attacks on women in recent times, said regarding these crimes, “Boys will be boys. They commit mistakes... Should they be hanged for rape?” This June, Chhattisgarh State Minister for Law and Order, Ramsevak Paikra who is from the national ruling party, the BJP suggested that rapes do not happen on purpose but accidentally. A few days after Paikra’s comments, and just a week after the horrific gang-rape and murder of two young girls in Utter Pradesh, Babulal Gaur, Home Minister of Madhya Pradesh state and also a member of the BJP shamefully remarked that rape is, “sometimes right and sometimes wrong”. Such sickening remarks are being made by lawmakers in a country where there is currently an epidemic of sexual violence against women. These latest comments by Tapas Pal are not simply reflective of the gutter-politics that afflicts so many secular states but also the derogatory attitudes held by so many Indian lawmakers towards women and the light manner by which they regard protecting women’s dignity. This is also manifested in the lax approach by which the country’s politicians and authorities deal with such crimes. Such attitudes however are not surprising since these lawmakers are affected by the corrupt environment caused by the liberal values they implement and promote. These values encourage individuals to fulfil their desires as they wish and also licence the degrading of women for the sake of entertainment or advertisement to increase the profit-margins of capitalist companies. It is only inevitable therefore that such a harmful milieu will nurture mindsets that regard the dishonouring of women with indifference or in a light manner. This explains why tougher laws against these crimes have failed to even dent the scale of the problem. It highlights the inherent flaws and dangers of the secular system for women, where those who embody such offensive and low views towards women are the very ones legislating the laws for the society in which they live. How can any woman entrust this system with safeguarding their dignity? Rather it is ample proof that this and any other man-made model of ruling will never succeed in creating an environment where women enjoy security and respect. This is reflected in the high levels of these heinous crimes affecting other secular nations – East and West – nations which have proven utterly clueless in how to stem the tide of violence against women within their societies. This is to be expected, as the human intellect is limited in its capacity to understand human problems and provide effective solutions. Furthermore, it is the very liberal values that these states implement upon their people that creates a breeding ground for such violations of women’s dignity and nurtures apathy towards it. It is only the Khilafah system based purely upon laws from the Creator (swt) which can truly solve crimes against the dignity of women, for it alone will be free from the errors, limitations, or prejudice of legislation derived from the whims of the human heart and mind. It is a state that views the honour of women as more precious than the treasures of the world, even designating slander against them a serious crime with a heavy penalty. Additionally it embraces a host of laws that practically ensure women’s protection, including prohibiting their exploitation and prescribing severe punishments for any violation of their dignity. Furthermore, it rejects the sexualisation of society which cheapens and devalues the relationship between men and women. It is therefore the Khilafah that the women of the Muslim world and beyond so urgently need. Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by Dr. Nazreen Nawaz Member of The Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir .