Saturday, January 08, 2011

The Rape Victim as Criminal

This news story from The Saudi Gazette (hat tip: Vlad Tepes) is so fundamentally disturbing that I’ve put the entire text of the article below the jump. If you are sensitive to issues related to rape and sexual violence, you may want to skip it:

Girl gets a year in jail, 100 lashes for adultery

JEDDAH – A 23-year-old unmarried woman was awarded one-year prison term and 100 lashes for committing adultery and trying to abort the resultant fetus.

The District Court in Jeddah pronounced the verdict on Saturday after the girl confessed that she had a forced sexual intercourse with a man who had offered her a ride. The man, the girl confessed, took her to a rest house, east of Jeddah, where he and four of his friends assaulted her all night long.

The girl claimed that she became pregnant soon after and went to King Fahd Hospital for Armed Forces in an attempt to carry out an abortion. She was eight weeks’ pregnant then, the hospital confirmed.

According to the ruling, the woman will be sent to a jail outside Jeddah to spend her time and will be lashed after delivery of her baby who will take the mother’s last name.

12 comments:

Gregory said...

I posted this story on my facebook page last evening. Sowdi arabi is one totally screwed up nation of people. Shows to go ya what islam will do to humanity if it is allowed to take over. Satanic. Nothing but satanic.

Robert said...

Among Moslems on the Arabian Peninsula it is universally known by young ladies that they are not to take rides from men to whom they are not closely related. It would be assumed that a female who would violate this rule was a person of very loose morals. I think the court should be commended for postponing her whipping until after the child is born. Of course, there might be standard rule that pregnant women cannot be whipped.

Nilk said...

Robert, it is indeed a standard rule that pregnant women not be whipped or stoned until the child is weaned.

I don't have a copy of the hadith to hand, but there was a case of adultery and the woman was brought before Mo. He was the one who said not to do anything until she'd given birth and weaned the baby. (paraphrased - I really need my own copy of Bukhari).

With the prevalence of baby formulas, there would be no need to wait 3 months, so technically she could give birth one day, and get whipped the next.

Nick said...

Obviously 'secondary victimisation' doesn't translate well into Arabic ...

Anonymous said...

Given that she's not getting her head chopped off, I wonder whether her 'crime' is in fact a combination of being out alone and getting into a car with a man to whom she was not related.

Anonymous said...

"The District Court in Jeddah pronounced the verdict on Saturday after the girl confessed that she had a forced sexual intercourse with a man who had offered her a ride."

Y'all are making me aggravated....

Are you seriously thinking that you can take the word of the Muslim District Court at face value as to the circumstances of the Muslim kidnapping and gang rape that occurred?

So, the District Court in Saudi Arabia (a country that has NEVER conceived that a woman has equal rights to a man) says that the woman "confessed" that she was raped by a man who "offered" her a ride? What if her "confession" was forced under threatened or actual torture (independent of the torture of gang rape, of course)?

Then, you want to say that only a "person" of "loose morals" would accept such a ride? What if the woman was forcibly kidnapped first and then gang raped by the men?

Evidently, the Muslim "honor" of Saudi Arabia is of greater concern than the criminal prosecution of kidnapping and gang raping men of "loose morals" who target legally helpless women whose testimony in the case of rape is worthless - as four Muslim men must testify to seeing the actual rape occur. Otherwise, any rape is actually fornication or adultery with all of the usual barbarity of Sharia Law.

Najat Kessler said...

"a person of very loose morals"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What the hell!

So if according to your perception someone is "a person of very loose morals." they deserve to be raped and physically abused for being raped!!!!!!!

I got news for you: You are the one has no idea what morals are nor do you have the slightest idea about human decency!

I am appauled by anyone who would condonn such horrifying abuse and try to somehow make it ok. What if it was you!

Even if this young woman was a prostitute: SHE DOES NOT DESERVE TO BE RAPED. Nor does she deserve to be physically & mentally abused and scared some more! No matter what you call it. PERIOD.

Any state, like Saudia, who practice horrifying abuse and torture of their citizens and calls it laws ought to make us ALL REVOLT against such abuse of the most basic human right...and YES, I said "we"...all of us Citizens of the world should revolt and try to do something proactive to help our follow human being living under such abuse.

The LEAST we can do is vehemently protest and speak out our OUTRAGE.

Unknown said...

Wow! Just wow! Behave Saudi Arabia....behave. This is why the rest of the modern world doesn't take you seriously. Hey, when enough time has elapsed, and ALL your oil is gone, we can let you all fall into irrelevancy. Grow up.....seriously.

Arzachel said...

Actually Islamıc rules and Shariatic rules differ in that matter. Saudi Arabia is ruled by the Shariatic rules which as you said the punishment can be whipping or to be stoned. The problem is there is no women rights in those countries which are ruled by the Shariatic perspective. Let me give a couple of examples: In Islamic countries which are in South Africa have no virtue homicide (kill a woman who is presumed to loose her virtue). Marrying with a prostitude is not a problem. In Nigeria virginity does not matter. Actually the hymen is removed after the birth. As I said it's not a matter of religion to give such kind of punishment but a matter of interpretation of Quran. By saying all these I must add, rape is a rape no matter the explanation or if there is a confession. There is a big equality problem in Islamic world between women and men. I think Turkey is the only democratic/secular republic which has a %90 of Muslim population. I believe secularism is the most important support of the civil/women rights.

jason taylor said...

It seems to me a lot of rules in the Islamic world are based on men not being able or not requiring them selves to control themselves.

Anonymous said...

Only a loose woman would accept a ride from a man? But in S.A., women aren't allowed to drive.

Sophie said...

She had 'loose morals', Robert? "I think the court should be commended for postponing her whipping until after the child is born."??

So let me ask you, how are YOUR moral standards? If they're not perfect, or if you've ever done something rather stupid or reckless, does that mean you basically deserve to be raped - oops, sorry, I mean have 'forced intercourse' and get lashed? Are you due for a whipping, Robert, as you seem to think this girl was? There is no excuse for your remarks. Don't ever commend a Saudi court for anything they do when they violate basic principles of decency and justice!