It looks like a dream run for the Indian judiciary. A day after setting right an erroneous judgment in a much-publicized rape-and-murder case, the courts have resolved two other cases of sexual assault. Although the ruling in Imrana Bibi’s case cannot beat the speed of the Bihar court (which pronounced its verdict in five hours flat), there can be no doubt about its relative promptness when compared to the ones which languish in dusty files at the courts and police stations. With the right mix of efficiency, judicial speediness and public interest then, rapists can be sent behind bars in a matter of days.

One cannot overlook the fact that changing perceptions of the crime and sensitization of the administrative and legal machinery have made this possible. The necessity of giving rape a broader definition other than penile-vaginal penetration is now more keenly felt than ever. There is already a draft bill on rape to identify sexual violation with any kind of forced physical contact. The penalties for the violator have been made more severe, the examination of the victims is now a less traumatic process, and their age and condition are considered major factors in judging the seriousness of the crime. But beyond this swiftly-changing facade, there are certain unchanging realities that will continue to compromise the position of the raped.

The contrasting responses of the two victims — the eight-year-old in Bihar and Imrana Bibi — to the trial make this clear. The forthrightness of the child and the confounding silence of Imrana Bibi were both dictated by the reaction of their immediate social environment. While the victimhood of the virginal daughter of a small-town shopkeeper was self-evident and therefore deserving of public outrage, it was far more complicated in the case of the daughter-in-law in rural Uttar Pradesh. Then, as now, Imrana Bibi’s family members and neighbours had raised questions about her own agency in inviting such behaviour from her father-in-law. For rape, it is still believed with much conviction, is seldom caused without provocation. The victim is thus responsible for the crime committed on her and for the shame she brings to her family. Even with the guilty behind bars, Imrana Bibi’s future and that of her children will be blighted by this shame. Little wonder then that despite her husband’s wish to cohabit in contravention of the local imams’ ruling, Imrana Bibi is desperate to stay away from her unrelenting past.

The past may not leave the eight-year-old girl’s future untouched either. Society is yet to realize that its skewed attitude towards women and power is responsible for the perpetration of the crime and its stigma, which a court victory cannot entirely undo. Social attitudes towards the crime have to change more fundamentally in order to make the laws work. And endless controversy over the bounds of personal law, together with the routine politicization of the matter, cannot be allowed to deflect the winds of change.