BLOG: India’s Moral Police

“If my daughter was having premarital sex and moving around at night with her boyfriend, I would have burned her alive.”

Got your attention?

As extreme as that sounds, it’s not an especially unusual sentiment in India. That’s the world women live in.

In fact, the only reason that quote made headlines is because it was made by, wait for it…a lawyer. That’s right, a member of the justice system.

His name is AP Singh, and he said this outside a courthouse in Delhi, moments after two of his clients had been sentenced to death for their involvement in the vicious gang-rape of 23 year old physiotherapy student, Jyoti Singh.

My first thought was that it didn’t seem especially bright for a man hoping to get some sympathy for his clients during the appeals process.

My second, as I prepared to fly to India: How can we possibly interview this nut? Can we trust anything he says?

We arrived at his office on a muggy Tuesday evening. He was intelligent, welcoming and thoughtful. He had good reason to believe the police may have fabricated evidence and beaten confessions out of his clients. The police file, which we obtained through other sources, legitimized his scepticism.

But I still felt conflicted.

Read more: Lawyer in India gang rape case claims police fabricated evidence

This was India’s “Rosa Parks moment”. The moment in history when masses of people woke up to the violence and injustice women face on a daily basis, and said enough is enough.

And here we are, working on a story that says the people the government convicted may have been given the rubber hose treatment.

There is an ever-present patriarchy in India that frowns on women engaging in pre-marital relationships, wearing revealing clothing, and a laundry list of other supposed offenses against decency and good taste.

That means when a woman steps out of those narrow-minded lines, it is traditionally any Indian citizen’s right to intervene and set them straight.

Singh says that’s how the conflict that ended Jyoti Singh’s life began. She was supposedly getting intimate with a “friend”, and that made the rapists angry enough to confront them. It got out of control.

This needs to stop. It’s an affront to women everywhere, and men too in a way. This attitude says men are incapable of controlling their lust, or their violent nature, so it’s up to women not to tempt them into rape.

So, why did we do a story questioning the evidence that helped convict the men accused of such a horrible crime?

Because sometimes, being a journalist means you have to listen to people whose personal views may offend you, if it helps get to the truth. Even if, at the same time, it makes you feel queasy inside.

Don’t miss “Bus Rape Outrage” this Saturday at 7pm on 16X9.