Society needs to be cured

Your Right To Know
Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Kohinur Khyum Tithila, East West University, Dhaka

I am glad that finally five perpetrators of Tangail gang rape are now behind bars. The question is, were there only these five perpetrators who have been behind the girl's abysmal physical and psychological condition? The victim's condition wouldn't have gone this worse if she had been given proper medical care the moment she was rescued. Her family was afraid to give her medical care and emotional support she needed because of social stigma. We have created a society that is way more hostile to the rape victim than to the rapist. We make rules, traditions and decide the standard of right and wrong for society which teaches us to develop a negative attitude towards the rape victim. So it is not just those rapists who are to blame, we all are liable for every rape case. Traditional social norms instil the concept into us that there is no coming back from rape. Even if the victim wants to come back to her regular life, even if the schoolgirl recovers from the physical trauma, her circumstance might not let her recover from the psychological trauma. This society will never let her forget those gnawing memories. I learned from the news update that the girl's condition is improving and like all other rational human beings, I too hope that she will recover completely. But I think it is society which needs to be cured of its illness in the first place.