I will get right to the point. Rape is not supposed to be an everyday event. It is not supposed to be so common that our minds are subconsciously trained to expect it when a woman is alone on the road. Going to Mars is not an achievement when a girl can’t even walk across the road to buy a packet of biscuits without her mother getting worried.
Let’s go over the basics for a second. Rape, in layman’s term, is sexual assault, right? Wrong. Rape has nothing to do with sex. Imagine you’re watching your friend play a game of football with another guy and he loses. You smile and say, “Dude. He so raped you.” Do you mean to say that he molested you? No. You mean to say that he humiliated you. He showed you your worth. He established his dominance over you. He made you feel like you are nothing. Need I elaborate?
Rape, in no way, is a motive for sexual satisfaction. I bet it just psychologically soothes the rapists that the survivor finds them, and what they’re doing, absolutely repulsive, and rejects it again, and again.
There is a new word going around on the internet. It is ‘consensual’ sex. Like, excuse me? It isn’t ‘consensual’ sex and ‘non-consensual’ sex. It’s sex and rape.
Like a viral, uncredited post explains, “You do not say ‘breathing swimming’ and ‘non-breathing’ swimming. You say ‘swimming’ and ‘drowning’.”
Rape is a message from patriarchy and it is terrible when it happens in a marriage. Most men in India do not understand the concept of marital rape. They’re like, “Wait. So, if I own a cake and I use it to satisfy my hunger, then that’s eating, right? Not theft.”
Notice the word ‘own’? This is where the problem lies. You do not own your wife. [envoke_twitter_link]You do not love her in exchange for a ‘yes’ every time you’re horny[/envoke_twitter_link]. She does not exist to put your roti on the stove in the morning and her body on your bed at night. She is a separate human being. And no human being, in this entire world, deserves to wake up and make tea for their rapist.
Guys. I’m going to say something. It will sound weird, but I swear it’s true. You do not have a right over your wife. It is not your haq. She has a choice of saying no. Who knew, right? Just think about how it would feel to have the father of your children force himself on you? Can you imagine standing in the police station and saying, “Please file my FIR. This man, who promised to take care of me, to love me, to protect me, he violated my sense of self. He violated me.” Sounds easy, right? [envoke_twitter_link]Your wife is not a sex machine and you are not an animal[/envoke_twitter_link]. The ‘I do’ does not come with ‘every time you want to’.
Marital rape is punishable by law in more than 100 countries. Because, apparently, in 100 languages, no means no.
Has anyone ever noted that Ravana never once touched Sita? It is because when he was bringing her in his palace forcefully, suddenly his wife stopped him and said, “No woman has ever entered this palace without her consent. Are you trying to prove that you are not man enough for her to want to come to you?” He sent her to Ashok Vatika and went there to woo her every day. He would sing, dance, get angry, and try to convince her to come to him. He would play musical instruments, bring her gifts, and change into gorgeous forms. Yet, Ravana didn’t touch Sita once as he never got her consent. So are you telling me that the men we live amongst are worse than the demon who we consider so evil that we attempt to burn him every year? Just something to think about.
Rape Prevention Tips
1. If you’re alone in an elevator with a woman, don’t RAPE her.
2. If you see a woman getting in her car alone in the parking lot, don’t RAPE her.
3. Carry a RAPE whistle! Every time you feel you’re about to RAPE a woman, blow it till someone comes and stops you.
4. You need to make your children aware since childhood. Don’t joke about your son breaking hearts or blow off sexual harassment as a part of growing up.
5. If you take a girl on a date and plan on raping her later, please tell her before hand. She may be taking your goodness for granted.
6. If your wife says no, don’t RAPE her.
7. You are not an animal. A girl should not need to carry a pepper spray to deal with you like she would carry a gun when dealing with a lion. If you have one ounce of self-respect, don’t RAPE her.
_