What is rape?

Following the rape of two university students at a hotel in Banani, social media was ablaze with everything from rape apologists to victim blaming and all things in-between. What is fundamentally missing in the conversation is the very reason why people rape. The answer is surprisingly simple. It is about control. Often used as a weapon of war, rape is the forceful sexual penetration of another human being. In Bangladesh the fact that rape is very commonplace is usually swept under the rug as sexuality and the sexual abuse is never publicly discussed or reported. When an 80-year-old bed-ridden hospitalised woman was raped recently, it still failed to generate the kind of conversation the country desperately needs about what is becoming a huge issue. In a society where misogynistic and patriarchal values are deeply entrenched in our psyche it is difficult to view women as individuals and not as sexual objects. Regardless of their age. A women is valued once again on their ability to silently internalise micro aggressions against her own humanity. When they speak up, comparative logical fallacies, moral policing and victim blaming are quickly employed to discredit a rape survivor. Keep in mind the legal system is being challenged in 2017 about the two finger test. There is also the fact that medical tests can rarely ascertain if a rape happened. In the case of these two girls, since it has been a month, the chances of finding DNA evidence is extremely low. Without physical evidence how are these girls going to prove what had happened to them? There could be some suggestive evidence, but the hotel, the Raintree, only keeps CCTV footage for a month and the incident happened on March 28 and the case was filed on May 6. This will most likely be fought in the realm of their words against the men accused and this is where we will see their characters being attacked, morally policed and some will genuinely believe the girls deserved it as they went to a party at night with men. They will be greatly presented as women with loose morals who deserved it. In fact, much fervour online is focused on this subject. Briefly explained, it is a logical fallacy in which one tries to prove that the eventual conclusion of certain things is rape. Our society has consistently failed to address some fundamental issues regarding how it values women, for when brave young women step up to speak about their ordeals society consistently runs them through the mud telling them their value ultimately is of a sexual object, to be desired and violated if wanted.