They told us
that if you do not resist
it means
you have consented to sex

They also told us
You should have called him “brother”
which would mean
you didn’t egg him on

We told ourselves
that if the law defined consent,
it would mean
recognizing when we don’t consent

We told ourselves
The certitudes of the law
are good
for ambiguities to fly out

Then they told us,
once the law defined consent
that no does not always mean no
and sometimes no means yes

They told us
that the definitions
provoke people
to file false complaints

Now we are telling ourselves
certitudes are a problem
ambiguities are a problem
and yet we have to
intercourse with the law
to get justice!
 

They= the State and arms of the State
We = various strands of Indian feminism