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MUST READ - An Inspiration, An Autobiography of Sohaila.
"I was gang raped three years ago, when I was 17 years old. My name and my photograph appear with this article. in 1983, in Manushi.
I grew up in Bombay, and am at present studying in the USA. I am writing a thesis on rape and came home to do research a couple of weeks ago. Ever since that day three years ago, I have been intensely aware of the misconceptions people have about rape, about those who rape and those who survive rape. I have also been aware of the stigma that attaches to survivors. Time and again, people have hinted that perhaps death would have been better than the loss of that precious“virginity.”
I refuse to accept this. My life is worth too much to me. I feel that many women keep silent to avoid this stigma, but suffer tremendous agony because of their silence.
Men blame the victim for many reasons, and,shockingly, women too blame the victim, perhaps because of internalized patriarchal values, perhaps as a way of making themselves invulnerable to a horrifying possibility.
It happened on a warm July evening. That was the year women’s groups were beginning to demand improved legislation on rape. I was with my friend Rashid. We had gone for a walk and were sitting on a mountainside about a mile and a half from my home in Chembur which is a suburb of Bombay. We were attacked by four men,who were armed with a sickle. They beat us, forced us to go up the mountain, and kept us there for two hours. We were physically and psychologically abused, and, as darkness fell, we were separated, screaming, and they raped me, keeping Rashid hostage. If either of us resisted, the other would get hurt. This was an effective tactic. They could not decide whether or not to kill us. We did everything in our power to stay alive. My goal was to live and that was more important than anything else.
