A critical inquiry into the denial of May 1998 mass rapes

As a social researcher, I found the recent statement by Culture Minister Fadli Zon regarding the mass rapes during the May 1998 humanitarian tragedy deeply unsettling.

In a grave misstep, the minister opened Pandora's Box. His assertion that this dark historical episode was merely a "rumor", despite being a documented tragedy, sparked widespread anger, sorrow and vexation. Civil society, particularly women's solidarity movements, immediately demanded his resignation. This isn't an abstract debate; it strikes at the core of truth, justice and the very possibility of healing for a nation grappling with its painful past.

Denying mass sexual violence in conflict is a distressingly familiar pattern. Scholars, including Catherine MacKinnon in Towards a Feminist Theory of the State (1989), have long argued that rape during war or civil unrest isn't an incidental act. Instead, it's a systematic tool of subjugation; a weapon of war used to terrorize, humiliate and dismantle communities.