Semiotics of Rape: Sexual Subjectivity and Violation in Rural India

About the Book

In Semiotics of Rape, Rupal Oza follows the social life of rape in rural northwest India to reveal how rape is not only a violation of the body but a language through which a range of issues-including caste and gender hierarchies, control over land and labor, and the shape of justice-are contested. Rather than focus on the laws governing rape, Oza closely examines rape charges to show how the victims and survivors of rape reclaim their autonomy by refusing to see themselves as defined entirely by the act of violation. Oza also shows how rape cases become arenas where bureaucrats, village council members, caste communities, and the police debate women's sexual subjectivities and how those varied understandings impact the status and reputations of individuals and groups. In this way, rape gains meaning beyond the level of the survivor and victim to create a social category. By tracing the shifting meanings of sexual violence and justice, Oza offers insights into the social significance of rape in India and beyond.

Table of Contents:
Preface  vii
Acknowledgments  ix
Introduction  1
1. Consent  36
2. Compromise  65
3. Land  104
4. Death  130
Conclusion  161
Notes  173
Sources  185
Index

About the Author :
Rupal Oza is Professor of Women and Gender Studies at Hunter College, City University of New York, and author of The Making of Neoliberal India: Nationalism, Gender, and the Paradoxes of Globalization.

Review :
"This poignant, timely, and urgent discussion of rape and sexual politics in rural India, Oza underscores that Dalit women’s bodies, often marked by the problematic images of vigilante justice, are defined by their sexual subjectivity and are not victims. Instead, they are complex sexual subjects which assert their choices in rape cases. . . . Oza’s monograph, therefore, makes an important contribution to the fields of gender, women’s and sexuality studies, transnational studies, anthropology, and South Asian studies. It will also be helpful for introductory feminist theory graduate courses." - Nidhi Shrivastava (South Asian Review) "An interesting read for scholars pursuing research on gender/women’s studies, sexuality, and related topics. Policymakers should find this book interesting to sensitise authorities dealing with cases of violence against women." - Rituparna Bhattacharyya (Asian Studies Review) "The book provides a bold perspective from which to understand sexual violence and deserves serious discussion amongst scholars and activists, as it broadens our understanding of what justice could be." - Gagan Preet Singh (Asian Journal of Law and Society) "Beyond Indian society, this book is a must-read for everyone who seeks to scrutinize institutions which uphold ideals that actively discriminate against specific groups of people on the basis of their cultural and political identities. Additionally, lawyers, activists, and scholars in the field of women’s studies and those actively working to give voice to victims of rape and sexual violence will find the book incredibly useful in understanding the psychology of survivors and the communities in which they reside." - Nikita Puri (Journal of International Women's Studies) "Through her compelling and empathetic writing, Oza brings forth the narratives of survivors and allows us to reimagine possibilities of justice in an unequal and stratified society, making this book a significant addition to works on sexual violence, particularly in India. Semiotics of Rape by Rupal Oza does the important work of capturing and documenting perhaps the most important narrative of all-the  voice and subjectivity of the victim/survivor of sexual violence in contemporary India."
  - Sukanya Bhattacharya (Crime Media Culture) "Rupal's book pushes us to look beyond words such as victim and survivor and how the language around sexual violence cases often concretises stereotypes and patriarchal systems. It is a much-needed reminder of how women assert their autonomy and refuse to be defined by violence." - Namita Bhandare (Hindustan Times) "Rupal's book pushes us to look beyond words such as victim and survivor and how the language around sexual violence cases often concretises stereotypes and patriarchal systems. It is a much-needed reminder of how women assert their autonomy and refuse to be defined by violence." - Neha Dixit (Hindustan Times)