"She asked for it". So, what exactly did she ask for? I sincerely doubt that she asked some dumb fuck to rape her, mutilate her, set her on fire, chop her into tiny pieces, grope her, kidnap her, torture her, shoot her, strangle her, throw acid on her...the list is endless. You get my point. Nobody, male or female, asks for that kind of brutal shit to happen to them. So, what if she was drunk? How can that justify anyone raping a person, men can drink, but women cannot, is the mindset. Lawyers worldwide have used this as a justification for men raping women. So she was unconscious, and instead of helping her, it somehow justified her rape and mutilation. Wow! That law degree is really just paying for itself.
In some countries, if a person is drunk while committing a sexual crime, there is little to no punishment since that person was not sober and hence incapable of making sound judgments, but they are capable of violating another person. This implies that men can rape at will after enjoying a few drinks and getting away scot-free!
Sexual exploitation and harassment have been rampant as long as men and women have coexisted on this planet. The physically stronger of the two will overpower the weak. Women worldwide have faced groping and sexual misconduct, which has nothing to do with their age, looks, race, build, clothing or whatever people like to pin the blame on these days. What all these factors do have in common is that the perpetrator is primarily male, entitled, unapologetic and feels that he is justified in his actions.
The act of harassment is so common that most women stay silent and just accept it as a way of life; some speak up and don't get the justice they deserve: crowded buses and trains are a hotspot for such activities, and now there is a device that has been developed in Japan that marks the harassers with invisible ink, which enables them to track the offender and deter others. This sold out in less than half an hour. Most women would love to buy such a device, but even investing in pepper spray and rape alarms is not a solution though it might act as a deterrent.
Women in power have not been spared either, even if you are a princess, a political figure, a celebrity or even the first lady of a country. People (men and some women included - go figure) feel they have a right to 'slut-shame' women for how they choose to dress. The garment is either too tight, too short, too sheer, too low cut or whatever excuse they want to come up with. Every part of a woman's body is under constant scrutiny, and others feel entitled to pass rules on how they should wear their hair, what length their skirts should be and even the color of their underwear in school. (Japan).
Women are tired of trying not to appear a certain way to protect themselves, so why should men not be taught that it's not alright to objectify women and rape them?
It doesn't end there; there is trafficking, prostitution (I am sure no one applied for this dream job but were either forced into it or did it due to dire straits), child marriage, female foeticide, female genital mutilation and being enslaved in certain parts of the world; all these practices are a shameful reminder of female sexual exploitation, it has been going on for too long and what's worse is that it's still rampant today.
YOU ARE READING
#I'm Not Sorry
ChickLitThese are a series of short essays on topics ranging from gender equality, education, self-love and various other aspects that have a direct impact on our daily lives. This book, as the title suggest, is about being true to yourself and others, whil...
