In Netrokona, a husband has killed his wife's rapist.
This is the only news today that has actually given me some relief.
Because if the state fails to provide justice or protection, a man’s last resort is to take revenge.
We don’t usually see this kind of patriarchy in Bangladesh or India.
If you’ve read Syed Mujtaba Ali’s Deshe Bideshe, you’ll find examples of this type of patriarchy. I heard that in Kabul or Peshawar, if someone even dared to pull at a woman’s veil, they would be killed on the spot.
So, usually, no one dared to touch women.
These incidents of rape in buses—of course, the police and administration are ineffective, but don’t the men in those buses have any responsibility?
If patriarchy is only about grabbing land or controlling women inside homes, then that’s a problem. What’s the use of a patriarchy that doesn’t get triggered even by a woman’s scream?
I’ve heard that this is now happening to men all over the world. The "woke" culture labels masculinity as toxic and possessiveness as a cheap mentality. So, men are now in a race to become soft and passive—people who are easygoing, without anger, without male ego.
These passive men will cry when their wives are assaulted, show empathy and sympathy, but they won’t show aggression toward the criminal. Because they’ve lost that sensitivity by gradually giving up their male ego.
To them, rape or sexual harassment is just another crime.
But for a man, laying hands on a woman should be a red line. Crossing that line leaves him with two options: either kill or be killed.
When Khaleda Zia was captured by the Pakistanis, Ziaur Rahman sent a note to the Pakistani officer saying, Treat my wife with respect, or I will kill you.
A man should be like that.
A man should prefer death over watching his wife being humiliated.
— Written by Sadikur Rahman Khan