Jalil Hassan
On 7 Sept, a woman was gang raped in front of her children in midnight on the Lahore – Sailkot Motorway. Finally, suspects are arrested by the police, but unfortunately, they are still not punished. Well public is demanding hanging for rapists, however Prime minister Imran Khan while addressing to journalists said that my personally opinion about rapists and child molesters is hanging, but he argued such capital punishment gain negative attention for Pakistan on International stage, he would instead prefer offenders undergo physical or chemical castration, that they never do such crimes in future. Moreover, such kind of penalties are applied in some counties like, United States of America, Russia, India, Israel, Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand South Korea, and also in UK. In United kingdom, Alan Turing case in 1952 he was pleaded guilty of homosexual relationship and accepted chemical castration instead imprisonment. At the time homosexual acts were called illegal, and it considered mental illness could prefered to chemical castration. Turing experienced such diseases like gynecomastia (breast enlargement) and bloating of the physique. He died two years later, with the inquest returning a verdict of suicide. However in 2009 British Prime Minister Gordon Brown issued public apology for Alan Turing. Although, rapists are humans and they have rights, therefore in castration human rights are violated. As far as, I am concerned, hanging or life imprisonment penalties are better for rapists and child molesters, Hence, Allah Almighty says in Holy Quran, in Surah Al- Mahida 5:33. that (Those who wage war against God and His Messenger and go about the earth spreading mischief, indeed their recompense is that they either be done to death or be hanged or have their hand and feet cut off from the opposite sides or they be banished from the land. Such will be their degradation in this world, and a mighty chastisement lies in the store for them in the world to come.) Imam Abu Hanifa interpreted. They be banished from the land onto ife imprisonment referencing to Hazrat Umar R.A.
(-The writer is Shariah and law student in IIUI, based in Islamabad. )