Serene Ferdous, 28 years old, reporter for Dhaka-based Bengali newspaper Prothom Allo, graduate of Jahangir University, Bangladesh.

"Who was raped?" We responded, "All of us. I am the girl... I am the girl that was raped too."... I say, see the world from the eyes of a woman, then you can feel the world.

Rape happens everywhere and in every society. And yes, it does happen in Bangladesh but we are not so behind... that we haven't even begun to protest issues of harassment and rape. I walk on the street freely, my hair swinging. Ten men look, but I don't care. When I was in university, some of us came together to raise awareness around issues of gender inequality. For example, [there were] earlier curfews for girls and later ones for boys. "Why?" we asked, "Why can they stay out later than us? We are equal and if the university is going to make rules, then they should make rules that apply to both male and female students." With continued pressure on universities, some changes are coming about. We have become more vocal. On campus, we pushed for an inquiry committee to investigate rape incidents and try to bring about justice. Slowly, we are making our statement that rape is illegal and it is time we start talking about it, despite the societal tendency to deny it.... Most papers describe rape scenes graphically, elaborately as if to entertain the reader.... Change will take time, but it is happening and will happen. It has just been so ingrained in our women to keep quiet about it and perhaps rape is a crime like all crimes that will never be fully eradicated. But the stigmas around those who have survived rape will have to change.

Translated from Bengali

This online exhibition was created in December 2001. To reach Fariba Alam, email her at faribaalam@yahoo.com