Bruises of rape culture

By Vaishali Gauba

In my culture

we don’t talk about sex. 

We imply it or shsh it 

or hush it.  

We even pretend,

in a country of 1.2 billion

like it doesn’t ever happen. 

In my culture 

the word rape is heard more 

than the word sex. 

Why is that?

Because sex is consent and 

rape is not 

but in my culture, to some, 

consent 

is a wild thought. 

In my culture

some people still

want to be married 

to a virgin girl

because they like brand new. 

And a broken hymen is 

just bad news. 

In my culture

you can be judged

for red lips and 

a short skirt 

because they can arouse 

a harmless flirt.

This culture of mine 

is yours too. 

This rape culture 

is slut shaming.

It is claiming

that no means yes. 

It is denying

that it can happen 

to men.

This rape culture is not

one nation 

It is a societal creation 

and when have we 

escaped that 

without 

extreme tribulation?