‘The rapist is you’: Feminists sing Bengali version of Chilean piece to protest Modi’s Kolkata visit

A feminist collective performed a Bengali version of the Chilean feminist performance piece, “The Rapist is You” in Kolkata on Saturday as part of the widespread protests against Narendra Modi’s visit to the city.

Titled Un violador en tu camino in Spanish, it was composed by a Chilean feminist collective and performed in Santiago in 2019, against the backdrop of widespread anti-government protests.

Since then, the song has gone viral, inspiring women around the world to generate their own versions. In Kolkata, it was translated into Bengali and named Dhorshok Tumii. A group of women connected over social media decided to perform it.

After a fortnight of rehearsals, mostly in Jadavpur University, the collective performed it for the first time on January 4, outside the city’s iconic New Market.

When it was learnt that Modi was going to come to Kolkata, the collective decided to repeat their performance. “We wanted to highlight the patriarchal violence that Modi’s idea of a Hindu Rashtra represents,” said Aopala Banerjee, one of the women who had performed the anthem on Saturday told Scroll.in.

The chant was also heard at a flash mob of women outside the courthouse where Harvey Weinstein is going to be tried for sexual abuse.

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‘The rapist is you’: A powerful feminist protest performance on the streets of Chile