Rapists should be given harshest punishment, says Central Nagaland Women Association president

KOHIMA — Against the backdrop of women ‘being raped’ and ‘paraded naked’ in Manipur state, the president of Central Nagaland Women Association (CNWA), Atoli Sema has demanded the harshest punishment for rapists.

“I want to call upon the country rulers that there should be a strict rule for punishing the rapists. They should be killed. They should be burnt alive. What they are doing to the women, the same thing should be done to the accused,”

Atoli told reporters on the sidelines of the ‘solidarity prayer for violence against women and unrest in Manipur’, held at the Nagaland Police Headquarters Junction in Kohima on Saturday.

‘Unless and until the rulers of the country introduce a new rule (to punish the rapists), there cannot be a change in the rape menace. Men will go on raping women; children even four, five, and six-year-olds are also being raped. So a new rule should be introduced to check this menace,’ said Atoli.

Candlelight vigils, rallies or mere punishment are not going to stop the rape menace because some people have become so degraded and are “ruled by demons”, she added.

Addressing the gathering during the programme held earlier, she said the mob had “destroyed the body where they have come from”.

She also accused them of “playing” with the mothers and sisters who gave birth, breastfed and raised them.

“They were formed in the womb of a woman, raised by a woman and fed by the woman. ‘Itu ke khili aseh nah! Ekdom wrong aseh. Demon huijaishey’ (You are playing with her, which is very wrong and is demonic),” she said, adding that such atrocities on women would not be accepted by the mothers.

The CNWA president went on to say that mothers are “pained” and crying their hearts out due to the torture meted out to women in Manipur.

While conveying heartfelt solidarity to the rape victims, she also prayed for peace and harmony to prevail in Manipur.

Also read: Hard shoulder construction along Kohima-Jessami road in Nagaland underway, says NHIDCL