Overseas tribe leaders vote to punish
the girls slumming with boys;
the boys slumming with girls,
caste systems and perceived class
are hard as cement
old customs die hard,
in this dry cut world.

Moral outrage is quick
to the stories foreign and
different,
the whole world reacts;
and the presses churn
to fulfill expected stories of girls gang raped
by her tribal elders.
I've never seen the news channels unravel
the local stories concerning sorority girls
attacked by clean fraternity boys.
Forget the tragedies of
weird girls
quirky boys
and prostitutes lying in the streets
when we still sweep under rugs
the realities of little girls attacked by fathers or
brothers.
We still ignore stories of innocents
raped,
shaking our heads saying
'on some level they wanted it.'

Just south of this nation
little girls of 13
must prove their pasts
chaste and pure
to fall under the category of violation
and victim.
Stealing a cow
gets you more time in prison
than attacking the women
given the curfew nine.
Statutory rape will be ignored
if victim and offender marry
thus the custom of 'the chase'
becomes deeply ingrained.

In trials north and globally
my dress is still in question
my politics are still in prosecution
and my sisters can lose a case
depending on how much she drank.

Date rape is real.
Rape in the confines of marriage is real.
Borders mean nothing,
when our subjugation is universal.
Economics are moot
when every class is a victim
to old stereotypes
and assumptions.
I won't sleep easy
until my sisters in
Pakistan,
Mexico,
Canada,
and next door
are free from
checking alleys, back seats
and lonely streets
for the attacker we can only assume
is 3 steps away.

Self protection is important;
self preservation a must,
but I dream of a day
when men know the boundaries
of bodies and consent.
I yearn for a future
without such grim realities.
I wait for a time
when any aggression
is so rare so un-understandable
that no matter the victim's nation
or class
or religion
or persuasion
we would all
Rally together
into global action.

Date rape is real.
Rape in the confines of marriage is real.
Borders mean nothing,
when our subjugation is universal.