Page 31 - June July 2017

Female Criminality in India
Sanyal also observed that women convict\s displayed emotional stability, insecurity, rejection or frustration in
childhood. They encountered harsh living conditions, disappointments in love and a large number of unfortunate
experiences which generally made it difficult for them to face realities of life.

Feminist theory

In light of this demographic shift in incarcerated populations, and the failure of traditional criminology to ac-
C count for women’s crime, some criminologists have begun taking steps to fill the void in the criminological lit-
A erature that addresses female criminality. The feminist pathways research is explicit in its pursuit of life events

P that lead/force/nudge women into crime. Again, even this approach has its own drawbacks. This approach is
I often ethnographic and uses retrospective data (i.e., interviews with incarcerated women asking them how they
ended up in jail) to develop an understanding of the key transitions in women’s lives that place them in jeopardy
T of entering the criminal justice system.
A
L Although it may be true that society has changed since the days of Lombroso and Ferrero, past theories appear
to remain within much of today’s criminal justice system. Women have so many choices of which they didn’t
before. It may appear naive to assume that women and crime may be explained by any one theory. Any crime
P for that matter, whether male or female, may not be explained by any one theory. It is an established and non-

U arguable fact that males and females differ biologically and sociological influences, such as gender-specific
role-playing appears to continue within most families. It’s a matter of proportion not difference. According to
N Edwards (1984), the enemy is within every woman, but is not her reproductive biology; rather it is the habit
I regarding it into which she has been led by centuries of male domination

S This unequal position of women in society due to social oppression and economic dependency on men and the
H state needs to be addressed. Offences by women remain sexualized and pathologized. In most ways, crimes

M women commit are considered to be final outward manifestations of an inner medical imbalance or social insta-
E bility. Their punishment appears to be aimed principally at treatment and reconciliation.
N Many argue, the main culprit for aggression as seen in many men is testosterone. This hormone appears respon-

T sible for much of the male crime, even in today’s society of increased knowledge on the subject. In contrast,
extensive research over the past twenty-five years done on the testosterone/aggression link focusing on prenatal
testosterone predisposing boys to be rougher than girls, concluded it was very difficult to show any connec-
tion between testosterone and aggressive behavior. Cross-cultural studies of ninety-five societies revealed 47%
of them were free of rape while at least thirty-three societies were free of war and interpersonal violence was
extremely rare. Based on these studies, it may be evident to suggest that sociological factors and environmental
influences appear to have greater credibility in explaining criminal behavior, whether male or female.

In is evident from the numerous specific studies already published that no single theory or type of explanation
is adequate for the wide variety of behavior variously called ‘crime’. Despite many theories have been offered
but no view point can sufficiently satisfy the quest for the area. The involvement of women in terrorist activities,
smuggling, violence, communal riots etc. witnessed the adoption of untraditional trends of crime by them, defy-
ing all available theories and trends of crime, because most of these crimes are problems of structural immoral-
ity and ethnic affinity. It therefore, becomes the need of the day to study the problem from fresh angle in order
to understand the phenomenon in its totality- recent trends, etiology, personality traits and its impact on society.

CASE LAWS

State CBI/ SIT v. Nalini & Others
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