Thursday, February 28, 2013

Maldives: Teenage Rape Victim to Receive 100 Lashes

According to the Qur'an, the penalty for fornication is 100 lashes:

Qur'an 24:2—The woman and the man guilty of illegal sexual intercourse, flog each of them with a hundred stripes. Let not pity withhold you in their case, in a punishment prescribed by Allah, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. And let a party of the believers witness their punishment.

A rape victim, in theory, will not be punished for being raped. However, under Sharia, it is almost impossible for a girl to prove that she has been raped. The Qur'an declares that a woman's testimony is half as reliable as a man's testimony (2:282), and accusations of sexual sin must be backed by four male witnesses (24:4, 13). Hence, the vast majority of rape victims won't bother to report the rapes, as those who do are often charged with fornication or adultery. Moreover, those who do not report the rape sometimes become pregnant. Since Sharia won't allow them to prove that they have been raped, the victims are then found guilty of fornication and sentenced to 100 lashes.

But don't forget that it would be racist and Islamophobic to object to any of this.

Maldives (BBC)—A 15-year-old rape victim has been sentenced to 100 lashes for engaging in premarital sex, court officials said.

The charges against the girl were brought against her last year after police investigated accusations that her stepfather had raped her and killed their baby. He is still to face trial.

Prosecutors said her conviction did not relate to the rape case.

Amnesty International condemned the punishment as "cruel, degrading and inhumane".

The government said it did not agree with the punishment and that it would look into changing the law.

Zaima Nasheed, a spokesperson for the juvenile court, said the girl was also ordered to remain under house arrest at a children's home for eight months.

She defended the punishment, saying the girl had willingly committed an act outside of the law.

Officials said she would receive the punishment when she turns 18, unless she requested it earlier.

The case was sent for prosecution after police were called to investigate a dead baby buried on the island of Feydhoo in Shaviyani Atoll, in the north of the country.

Her stepfather was accused of raping her and impregnating her before killing the baby. The girl's mother also faces charges for failing to report the abuse to the authorities.

The legal system of the Maldives, an Islamic archipelago with a population of some 400,000, has elements of Islamic law (Sharia) as well as English common law.

Ahmed Faiz, a researcher with Amnesty International, said flogging was "cruel, degrading and inhumane" and urged the authorities to abolish it.

"We are very surprised that the government is not doing anything to stop this punishment - to remove it altogether from the statute books."

"This is not the only case. It is happening frequently - only last month there was another girl who was sexually abused and sentenced to lashes."

He said he did not know when the punishment was last carried out as people were not willing to discuss it openly. (Source)

2 comments:

Selecta Mark said...

Pair jailed for child sex crimes

http://www.west-midlands.police.uk/np/birminghamnorth/news/newsitem.asp?id=12229

Muslims guys praying on young white girl again!!!

goethechosemercy said...

Mr. Faiz should not be surprised that the government is doing nothing.
This is Islam in all its arrogance.
Do not expect charity or forbearance from the Ummah.