Mahmood Farooqui is a convicted rapist, a well-known exponent of Dastangoi, a Rhodes scholar and a cultured historian. It’s a simple enough sentence, but hugely problematic for some.
How could a man like Farooqui (and also Tarun Tejpal and RK Pachauri) be accused of sexual assault?
Strengthened by years of newspaper reports and ingrained class prejudices, the stereotypical rapist in India is a stranger, mostly lower-class male, prowling on the streets at night. Yet, most rapes in India are committed by known persons; ex-boyfriends, someone within the family, a co-worker at the workplace...
But the image of a potential rapist as a stranger, lower-class male is too strong to let go of. Which leads to two troubling implications.
One, when the potential rapist is a stranger, the onus of preventing rape and being safe in a public space is on the woman.
Two, it makes reporting rape committed by known persons even more difficult, whether to establish in a court of law or to garner emotional support.