At a time, when people across the country and abroad were celebrating the victory of justice for Damini,after the Delhi court awarded death sentence to all four accused,the assertion of the defence lawyer in Delhi,AP Singh in response to a question referring to the victim -“if my daughter was having premarital sex and moving around at night with her boyfriend, I would have burnt her alive-is as horrific as is any case of rape.

His another take-“I would not have let this situation happen. All parents should adopt such an attitude”-was no less violative of the spirit of the Constitution advocating freedom of expression and right to equality.

No wonder why his utterances have been highly condemned by NGOs and other organizations.The Delhi Bar Association has decided to take suo motu cognizance against Singh.This was the legal side of his case.

Since his statements were reflective of his mind set and attitude,they have raised larger issues connected with attitude and thought process of a section of people in India today.Every body knows that in this 21 st century, females are fighting for the right to live with dignity and respect.Fortunately,in India,females are worshiped as goddess.

All these not only make the lawyer’s opinion seem irrational but also feudal and Talibani.More so because every female like any male has a right to live with dignity.The skywarding number of rape cases have put a huge stigma on the State.Its high time that the society finds ways to stop producing individuals like AP Singh.This is possible only through spread of modern education,values of sex equality and economic development in a way that ensures change in Talibani attitude and thinking.

In any case,the society must censor such sexists’ thinking and stop treating females as an object of sex and labour.