We allowed it to happen. Let us rewire.

She was me. She was you.

A rape. Our emotions. Not new.

This gruesome event made us emotive. By all means, we must be angry, sad, disgusted, ashamed about this atrocious rape by strangers. But is it enough? Should we not also be angry, sad, disgusted, ashamed about the cultural rape by our own people that each woman has been enduring each living moment, and will likely have to for a long time to come?

Do we promise to tell them to their face all that we have been saying on the interwebs? Do we promise to stand up for the victim and shame the perpetrator? When a man, everywhere, ogles or gropes? When a man sits next to a woman on a ladies seat even when the whole bus is empty and the conductor instead of reprimanding him encourages him and all other women do not approve of raising a preventive voice? When a friend or relative asks a woman not to create a scene, to let it go, because women have to be always careful? When the groom's parents treat the bride and the bride's parents like shit just because their son has a penis and she does not? When our parents ask, or are asked, for dowry? When our parents tell a bride that her parents (who have already funded her wedding) must fund the birth of her first child (whose birth she does not have control of)? When a woman is told that she is useless because another vagina came out of the one she has? When someone makes a sammich joke? When a feminist (either man or woman) is dismissed as crazy? Then, do we promise to watch each other's back?

Does it matter how old she was? Does it matter whether she was a student or not? Does it matter where she was going or where she was coming from? Does it matter what she was wearing or not?

She was not to blame, and some of us understand this and thankfully are not hesitant to acknowledge it in public. We are talking about castrating or killing the rapist. What about those who blame the rape victims? What about those who say that the victim was asking for it? Who will castrate the poison that is the evil structure of an evil society that gets away with anything under the cloak of culture, tradition, and religion? What about the neighbourhood or train aunty who thinks 'today's girls' are modern hence easy? What about the uncle or elderly ajja who thinks he can get away due to the respect his age commands? What about people in uniform who, although have a greater responsibility to society, choose to blame the victims rather than help them? What about the religious figures who time and again teach us to keep our women under control, and then themselves go ahead and exploit them? Who do you think is the real danger? The perpetrators of the actual act? Or a society full of slut-shamers who think it is ok to rape? Given a chance, based on a belief that it is ok to do it, could we have been doing it? Are we as a society not the true rapists?

We—men and women alike—allowed it to happen. Each one of us is equally, if not more, responsible for raping her.

Let us go beyond fixing a blown fuse. Let us rewire, and let some sparks fly.