80% blamed Pori Moni, only 16% spoke for her in social media comments

On a The Business Standard Facebook post showing video footage of the press conference by Shamsunnahar Smrity, also known as Pori Moni, 80% of a selection of the most relevant comments were about victim-blaming and the practice of whataboutism.

Of all the comments perused, only 16% were in support of justice for Pori Moni, while 4% were irrelevant.

The comments came from all corners of the country and their content was perhaps symptomatic of a disease plaguing the country -- the practice of victim-blaming.

This trend wasn't restricted to just this one post, with posts of many different media outlets having the same kind of problematic discourse.

On the TBS post, Sejuti Roy, a commentator from Faridpur, wondered why Pori Moni would go to a "club" so late at night. Many other netizens expressed the same: Why was she at a club? Why was she there at midnight? Does she not know what happens to girls in clubs in Dhaka?

Md Masud, another commentator, also expressed his curiosity in knowing what Pori Moni was doing at the club in the early hours of the morning. Some called it a "business transaction" gone wrong.

Omar Sharif, from Feni who lists his current address as Riyad, Saudi Arabia, said, "Everyone knows what kind of girl goes to a club after 12."

When another commentator, whose address is listed as Abu Dhabi, chimed in saying that this was not a laughing matter and consent was important, Suman Debnath, from Tripura in West Bengal, replied that those who go to clubs will get raped.

Meanwhile, a large number of commentators preferred derailing the issue and instead brought up different talking points.

Pointing their fingers at journalists, many commentators asked why TBS was focused on the Pori Moni issue and had done nothing on Abu Taw Haa Muhammad Adnan, a Rangpur preacher who had gone missing.

The case had already been reported by the daily, but many commentators chose to fixate on that then the matter on hand.

Other said the more important issue was that of unbridled amassing of wealth by a select few. Money-laundering, it seemed, was a bigger issue than what was being discussed.

Fortunately, some people did speak on behalf of the victim.

Issues of consent were a recurring theme in the discussions. Many also questioned why the post had around 4,000 "laugh reacts".

Marsa Hasan said this was no laughing matter and serious action was needed. Md Shamsul Arfin, meanwhile, also pointed out the concerning number of "laugh reactions" and prayed to God to save people from this mentality.

Sandha Islam Soha highlighted the culture of victim-blaming, saying "Rape is rape".

But these voices were drowned out by the overwhelming number of negative comments. Akhi Afroz was more concerned about the kind of movies Pori Moni made and not what had happened to her. She said children use mobile these days and Pori Moni ought to be careful, transferring her parenting responsibility on to someone unrelated to her and the child in question.

Keep reading

• Pori Moni sues businessman Nasiruddin, 5 others over attempted rape and murder
• Pori Moni accuses businessman of assaulting and threatening her with murder

Rony Ahammad declared that he was ashamed of people like Pori Moni. Afnan Ahmed, from Sylhet, chose to be poetic in his commentary. "When a tree grows naturally, its fruits are sweet. And when it grows artificially, the fruits are sour," he wrote.

While Facebook posts and the comments they bring may not be an accurate reflection of society, those do merit some concern.

Pori Moni wasn't the first celebrity to feel the ire of self-styled conservatives who are not only happy following a certain lifestyle, but are more interested in imposing their belief system on to others.

Famous actor Chanchal Chowdhury was one of the celebrities to face the wrath of the outspoken public. His fault? Being from a different religion.

Victim-blaming is a serious issue and even with anti-rape protests spreading around the country, the matter remains a persistent problem with no solutions in sight. 

Methodology: For this article, 100 comments were randomly selected based on relevance.