The long list of controversial comments made by Rodrigo Duterte has yet another edition and it may be his worst yet. The Phillippine President recently said that instances of rape would continue till beautiful women exist in the world - essentially shifting the blame on the opposite gender.
In a speech recently, Duterte referred to reports that there have been rising incidents of rape in his hometown of Davao. It was far from the kind of reference that many would have been expecting from the former mayor of the city. "They said there are many rape cases in Davao. As long as there are many beautiful women, there will be more rape cases," he said.
And as if it was not enough already, Duterte opted to further explain his take on what is considered a heinous crime the world over. "Who agrees to do it on the first request anyway? Will the woman allow it? No. ‘Don’t, no, ahhh.’ Nobody agrees to do it on the first try,” he was quoted as saying by a Phillippines-based news outlet called Rappler.
Although his spokesperson tried to clarify later that Duterte was only joking, hardly anyone is laughing. On the contrary, women groups around the world are absolutely outraged at what was said openly and without any apparent hesitation.
The comments have not just angered feminists and women groups but people at large. This, however, is hardly the first time Duterte has spewed verbal venom. He previously questioned the existence of God - even calling God stupid - and flayed US ambassador to his country as a 'gay son of a wh*re'.
