ED: A sickness in our mindset

One perhaps could be forgiven to believe that the entire nation sees the crime of rape as being one which deserves to be treated with the utmost seriousness and whomsoever is guilty of such a crime should be punished to the full extent of the law.

Unfortunately, it has been proven time and again that the reality reflects a much darker truth.

The frequency of rape incidents, the inability of law enforcement authorities to investigate and subsequently prosecute perpetrators, and the oftentimes victim-blaming attitude showcased by many continue to persist and contribute to the rape culture which permeates our society.

Most recently, this has been evident in the events surrounding the rape of a 16-year-old girl by a police constable in Feni, where the family of the victim was ostracized and threatened by their neighbours as they sought justice for the crime.

When an entire village collectively takes such a decision, especially when the rape involves an underaged girl, it is more than evident that for many in society, their outlook on rape is not one which is reflective of civilized society.

As such, when entire villages remain complicit in the impunity enjoyed by rapists, it should come as no surprise then that, in the span of two days, the Dhaka Tribune reported at least four incidents of rape: A garment worker in Bogra, a seven-year-old girl in Magura, a female madrasa student in Sylhet, and the aforementioned one in Feni.

The dehumanization and brutality necessary to carry out and justify rape is indicative of a sickness that exists within the collective consciousness of our society, and it is one we have continuously failed to address and fix.

Until we change our attitudes on women and rape, the severity of punishment will do little to prevent such violations from taking place in the future.