(This piece is being reposted from The Quint’s archives in light of the case where a woman was stalked and harassed by two men, including a BJP leader’s son, in Chandigarh. It was originally published on 4 March 2015 in response to the statements made by Mukesh Singh, an accused in the Nirbhaya gangrape, in an interview for Leslee Udwin’s ‘India’s Daughter’. The graphic ‘A Bad Girl’ has been inspired by the artwork of five students of Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology.)
Dear Rapists’ Association of India,
Your spokesperson, Shri Mukesh Singh, has enlightened us with his views on rape. He has told us that we will all be raped, if we don’t follow the Rapist Association’s guidebook – ‘Bad Girls Who Ask For Rape’.
We are sorry. All this while, we thought you were wrong for raping us. We should have known all along that the rape was our fault.
Mukesh Singh ji has told Leslee Madamji that he was doing his bit by punishing Jyoti Singh for being a buri ladki. Now that he has cleared the confusion, we have created a checklist of the actions that could lead to a rape from your association.
Kindly check and tell us if we have included all points:
Roams Around 9 PM
Thank you for telling us that any woman who has the audacity to roam around the streets after 9 PM can be raped. After all, where was she when dadis were saying, “Raat bhoot ka time hota hai”.
Wears Wrong Clothes
Clothes maketh a man is so Victorian. Clothes rapeth a woman is what your association stands for. And it is nice of you to tell us beforehand. That means we have your word you’ll spare us if wear ‘right’ clothes. Wait... Did I hear a groan?
Goes To A Disco
We understand that the only loud place where we could be spared your wrath is at a jagrata. Thank you very much.
Talks In English
We understand that a girl speaking in English must have seen immoral English movies, and everyone knows how much sex is in there. So rape wouldn’t come as such a shock.
Goes To A Pub
We are fully appreciative of the fact that a girl who goes to a bar, is doing wrong things and needs to be punished. She is drinking only so that she can be raped.
Does Not Do Housework
Profound apologies for that. You have shown me the path _ to the kitchen where I belong. I will now breed, cook, fetch, slave and slog, and step out only on the days that I feel like getting raped.
Goes to Work
Work is Blasphemy. And we are sorry we thought we could make an identity for ourselves ALONG WITH the wife, sister, daughter tag, that menfolk were kind enough to bestow on us.
Works at night
You are right. I am clearly a creature of the night seeking to be ravaged and brutalised if I seek to work after sundown.
Goes out with boys
Always a bevy of women, a gaggle of girls. Women must always be seen with their gender type. Going out with a boy is clear indication that we are immoral. We forgot about your Joint Venture with the esteemed Moral Police Association.
Fights The Rapist
Mukeshji said, “a woman should allow herself to be raped”. If she fights back, she deserves nothing but the utmost brutality. Point well taken.
Files an FIR
It’s just rape. If we start filing an FIR, for small well-deserved matters like rape then is it a surprise that, in annoyance, sometimes the cops rape us as well. You are right to advise against going to cops. The girl may not be entitled to her safety, but you are entitled to yours.
Is the Reason For Rape
We understand that your association spares the good girls. Oh wait... we just checked the papers – some members of your esteemed association have raped a five year old, even an 80 year old woman. Were they in any manner bad girls too?
Yours sincerely,
A Not-So-Good Bharatiya Nari
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