The Rape by Luqman Rajpoot

About this novel

The Rape by Luqman Rajpoot is a serious social novel about harassment, honour and the courage of a modest young woman at university. Despite its blunt title, the opening is not graphic. It focuses on how a girl who carries herself with dignity is targeted by men who think they can take whatever they want.

Fatima wears a grey hijab with a white cap and a veil, and she walks with such quiet modesty that even the worst troublemakers at the university feel obliged to lower their eyes when she passes. She covers her hands with black gloves, keeps herself fully protected, and has never once looked at a non-mahram man. People call her the princess of Islam on campus. Her only close friend is a Christian girl, Jasmine, who shares a class with her and admires her greatly.

حیا اور وقار کے خلاف بدنیتی — ایک باپردہ لڑکی کا امتحان۔

But not everyone respects her. Abid and his friends, Hamid and Arman among them, are bored, rich and cruel. They mock the girls who pass, betting and laughing about them. For two years Abid has followed Fatima “like a dog”, in his friends’ words, and has never got a single glance from her. Today, as she hurries to class, he blocks her way, mocks her for being so “packed”, demands to hear her voice and reaches for her veil. Fatima steps back before he can touch it.

Luqman Rajpoot writes about a painful reality many women face, and he puts the blame where it belongs: on those who refuse to respect a woman’s dignity. Readers should know the novel deals with sexual violence as its central subject, so it isn’t light reading. It’s a story meant to provoke anger, thought and discussion.

You can read The Rape online here or download the complete PDF for free. For more serious social novels, read Rakhail by Riaz Aqib Kohlar or Nafrat by Nasir Hussain.