Surgical castration.

Byline: Asad Siddiqi - Lahore

THIS is apropos the editorial 'Chemical castration' (Dec 17). Opinions are divided over the inclusion in the provisions of the recently promulgated Anti-Rape Ordinance 2020 that allows for the chemical castration of those convicted of rape.

Apparently, such castration procedures will not produce permanent results. Instead, like some immunisation procedures, it seems the convicts will require 'booster' shots of the chemical at intervals.

Convicts will be sentenced to castration at the discretion of presiding judges, depending presumably on the social status and age, among other things, of the victims. As rightly pointed out in the editorial, sexual violence is regularly used as an instrument of oppression, especially against those who are considered of lower social status, the poor, and children. The latter are usually killed, their bodies thrown on garbage heaps, or burnt.

It becomes even worse when the perpetrators enjoy the patronage of politicians in sheltering them from the arms of the law. As reported in international media recently, the rightwing firebrand chief minister of Uttar Pradesh claimed that in a recent case that unleashed waves of widespread protest across India, the rape allegations...