The first syllables of a new language: responses to sexual violence.

Abstract

This paper analyzes the pressures faced by feminists in developing countries as they craft responses to the sexual violence (rape) that occurs during their involvement in political struggles for liberation. After an introduction, the paper offers a theoretical framework for consideration of: 1) the nature of political shifts and strategies that enable effective feminist responses to rape to be resistance based on the empowerment of women rather than in appeals to patriarchal power bases, and 2) how feminists can reposition themselves in the face of dominant patriarchal heritages and values. The paper then examines the two short stories that informed this theoretical development, "Draupadi," by Mahasweta Devi and "Black Horse Square," by C.S. Lakshmi, both of which deal with the reactions of women activists who have suffered rape as a punishment for their political actions. In "Draupadi" the heroine responds to her rape by redirecting the social and moral definitions of shame associated with rape from herself to the perpetrators and by using her naked mutilated body as a weapon against the army officer who ordered her rape. The narrative in "Black Horse Square" revolves around the refusal of a raped activist to be used as a political symbol. The paper concludes that these stories represent an important step in the search for the development of an alternative rhetoric to represent women's struggles.