SAMIRA SAWLANI: Hon minister, rape is about power, not dress style

28.9.13

The Observer - Hon minister, rape is about power, not dress style - In Uganda, for many years civil society organisations, the media and survivors of rape have spoken out about the treatment by authorities and the police, of women who report a rape. Rose, (name changed), is 32. Weeks before she was due to get married, she boarded a taxi home at 9pm. as she alighted and began the two-minute walk to her house, three men followed her and began making inappropriate remarks. One put his hand on her mouth and pulled her into the bush on the side of the road. What followed was a harrowing ordeal where she was pushed to the ground, the first man forcing himself upon her, his weight making it impossible for her to move while his hand covered her mouth. Her clothes were ripped off, she was continuously raped by the three men who scratched and bruised her body in the process. After this, they punched her in the face, leaving her with a black eye and bleeding nose. “Since then, I’ve become a living corpse, not only because of what they did to me, but because of the number of people that blamed me for wearing fitted jeans and heels that day.  [...]