The new General Criminal Code has been amended to include life sentence for those raping a girl below 10 years, completely incapacitated women, women with disabilities, or women above 70 years. The punishment for raping a girl below 10 years earlier was a jail term of 16-20 years.
The offenders will now be jailed for 25 years with the provision of life sentence in place. Those guilty of murder after rape already had to spend the rest of their life in prison, according to the new General Criminal Code.
The Legislative Management Committee of the National Assembly has included provision of life sentence even for rape of completely incapacitated women, women with disabilities, or women above 70 years. Similarly, rape of a girl aged 10-14 years will attract a sentence of 18-20 years, and that of a girl aged 14-16 years up to 16 years in prison.
The General Criminal Code already had an additional five years for gang rape, rape of women pregnant for over six months, incapacitated women, women with physical and mental disabilities, and rape by using weapons to coerce the women.
