What We Talk about When We Talk about Rape

Sohaila Abdulali was the first Indian survivor to speak out about rape. Gang-raped as a teenager in Bombay and indignant at the deafening silence on the issue in India she wrote an article for a woman's magazine questioning how we perceive rape and rape victims. Thirty years later she saw the story go viral in the wake of the fatal 2012 Delhi rape and the global outcry that followed.Writing from the viewpoint of a survivor writer counsellor and activist and drawing on three decades of grappling with the issue personally and professionally and her work with hundreds of survivors Sohaila Abdulali looks at what we-women men politicians teachers writers sex workers feminists sages mansplainers victims and families-think about rape and what we say.She also explores what we don't say. She asks pertinent questions Is rape always a life-defining event? Does rape always symbolize something? Is rape worse than death? Is rape related to desire? Who gets raped? Is rape inevitable? Is one rape worse than the other? Who rapes? What is consent? How do you recover a sense of safety and joy? How do you raise sons? Who gets to judge? About the Author Sohaila Abdulali was born in Mumbai. She has a BA from Brandeis University in economics and sociology and an MA from Stanford University in communication. She is the author of two novels as well as children's books and short stories. She lives in New York with her family.