Operation: Dard and Devotion

Extra 5 | Addressing Accusations

*THIS POST CONTAINS TRIGGERS*

I am only going to speak for ODaD because that is all I can do. In 3 months, it'll be one full year of ODaD's completion, and I can't believe that I STILL have to explain ODaD due to "rape fantasy" claims...but here it goes.

1. "Rape Fantasy": Hayat was never raped at all. Harassed, physically and emotionally abused, tortured, yes. But not raped. The one person in the story who had been raped is Tala (that too, with no details other than the fact that she mentioned that it had occurred through conversation), and she NEVER romanticized the situation NOR did she fall in love with her rapist, Faizan. On the contrary, she hated him, and everyone in Al Tho'baan, and she constantly warned Hayat that she should not trust any of them whatsoever. So tell me, how am I promoting "rape fantasies"?

2. "Attachment to the Attacker": Throughout the entire plot, Tala never showed any sympathy or attachment towards ANY militant. And why the hell should she?? What reason does she have? Tala had been sold, raped and tortured, and the sole reason why she put up with everything she had endured was to find her sister. If you read the story, you know that it clearly did not go as she had hoped. After going through all that, hardly anybody would "fall in love" with such criminals - Tala had no reason to like anyone from Al Tho'baan!

But Hayat's case is entirely different. When Hayat had been abused and tortured in different ways, only one person showed an iota of kindness, an iota - and yes, that person was part of the terrorist group that had kidnapped her to begin with. It's not like she was head-over-heels in love with Faizan, of all people! That would be stupid. Faizan did nothing but hurt her, and there's no reason for her to be fond of him at all.

If you had been stuck in a hell hole as she had been and had gone through the things that she had (God forbid), and someone made the experience just SLIGHTLY, just MINUTELY more bearable...you would be attached to that person too. That one person had sympathized with her plight, and in return, she also tried to understand him. I understand some scenes between Hayat and Ahsan are not realistic, but the reason why I made it the way I did is explained quite thoroughly in the Questions & Answers section, and in the Final Author's Note.

3. The Preview: The Preview of any story is just that - it is for readers to see a sneak peek of the story for them to get the gist of the plot. Just because the first line of the preview is "Rape me", DOES NOT mean I am promoting, romanticizing, or encouraging rape fantasies. Seriously. That Preview was an EXCERPT from a chapter and taken completely out of context.

As an example to help you understand, I don't need to tell you that some people take one line from the Quran and use it to justify their beliefs that, "Oh, Islam is a violent religion, blah blah hooplah".

Do I believe that? Absolutely not!

Yeah, these are two distinct scenarios, but the point is...NOTHING MAKES SENSE IF YOU TAKE THINGS OUT OF CONTEXT.

4. "Planting seeds in impressionable minds": The last time I planted a seed, the plant died...let alone "planting seeds" metaphorically.

Guys, laugh. I'm trying to lighten the mood by being punny :s

Anyway, this accusation makes more sense to me than the others, but of course, I'm going to address my side.

Regarding the crowd of younger readers, I have put disclaimers, repeatedly, at the beginning of the story. I understand that not everyone can read this type of material. However, if you're going to ignore that and decide to read on, knowing that you can't handle the material....really, what the heck am I supposed to do about that?

...Come out of your screen and whack you with a cactus?

It is my responsibility to let everyone know that the content can be gruesome. Choosing to ignore my warnings is not under my control. On another note, your thought process is influenced by everything around you, including Wattpad stories, I agree.

Yes, I am responsible for the material I choose to put out here, and to make sure that I tried my best to convey factual information through a fictitious plot.

However, I am NOT responsible for YOUR interpretations of it. If I ask anyone who's read this story what the overall message was, I may find people who consider it to be a story about going through struggles and overcoming them...OR some others would still be stuck at "She fell in love with her kidnapper. Wut."

Two different ideas from the same plot.

That's your interpretation from your thought process, which I cannot control. How you choose to think, and to formulate ideas and opinions is not under my list of superpowers. But, I guess it's easier to blame me, so oh well.

5. "Still, too much violence and torture": Honestly, where you expecting this story to be all happy, cheery, rainbows and cookies...considering this is the blurb:

As if being kidnapped from a poverty-stricken town in the Middle East was not horrifying enough, Hayat Ishfaq, a 21 year-old American Muslim, is forced to watch the slow beheadings of her own schoolchildren.

But, those are the least of her worries.

You don't even need to read the whole story to know that it is going to be violent. You were given a warning from the very start.

6. "Stories that mention rape and abuse can hurt the minds of girls into thinking those things are "hot" and full of pleasure": You do realize that 90% of ODaD are REAL events where the names and locations have been changed, right?

You know what? In that case, I highly suggest you never leave your house. Actually, no. Don't even get out of your bed. And don't even think about checking your phone or computer, or newspapers, magazines, or TVs - all you hear and see are murders, robberies, kidnappings, rape cases, bombings, and abuse among other things. Just continue to live in your little, disillusioned world where happiness and cookies fall from the sky. Don't worry about the outside world. You should just continue to stay protected, sheltered and confined with yourself. Don't worry about others being hurt around the world and don't count your blessings or spread awareness. It's none of your concern anyway.

7. In case any more validation is needed: I am a human.

Why the **** would I deliberately romanticize rape and abuse?! Why the hell would I even think about brainwashing my fellow sisters (and brothers too, though the accusations seemed to be singling out girls specifically) into thinking that rape and abuse are romantic ordeals to go through?!

How horrid and disgusting for people to assume such things! You should be ashamed of yourselves. I got notifications about these claims early in the morning and it's currently 6:57 PM and I have not thought about anything else all day. This bothered me so much that I couldn't concentrate on just enjoying the day. I'm still absolutely disturbed and disgusted.

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Anyway, Happy New Year. I genuinely hope you all have a happy, healthy year ahead with blessings and joys, and that 2017 keeps you in good spirits. Be kind and caring to all.