Indian Politician Claims That Rape Is 'Sometimes Right, Sometimes Wrong'

With the most recent gang rape and murder of two young girls, India continues to prove itself a dangerous place for women these days.

But now, one politician's comments have cast further doubt that this country is looking to rehabilitate and find ways to prevent sexual abuses against women.

Close friend of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and an elected official of his same party made headlines overseas with a recent remark that rape is a social crime, and that

Sometimes it's right, sometimes it's wrong.

Babulal Gaur, the home minister responsible for law and order in the Bharatiya Janata Party-run region of Madhya Pradesh dismissed claims that the police did not act quickly enough in prosecuting the rapists who also killed their victims in the Uttar Pradesh area of India.

This is a social crime which depends on men and women. Sometimes it’s right, sometimes it’s wrong...Until there’s a complaint, nothing can happen.

With one rape reported in India every 21 minutes and way fewer people prosecuted for these heinous crimes, it's clear that local law enforcement officers aren't acting effectively or sensitively enough to help achieve some form of justice for these battered and abused women.

Gaur also cemented his status as a misogynist politician by expressing sympathy for Mulayam Singh Yadav, the head of the regional Samajwadi Party in charge of overseeing Uttar Pradesh.

Yadav was targeted by women's rights organizations for arguing that any woman who has pre-marital sex should be punished by public hanging, even in cases of rape.

Gaur's party has since denounced his opinions, stating that they don't reflect the sentiments of the BJP.

But it's troubling that this man and close ally to the prime minister was even elected in the first place, and continues to help determine how women are treated in India.

H/T: The Irish Times, Photo Credit: Shutterstock