Rape in Saudi Arabia: Punishing the Victim
If there has ever been a clear case of how utterly despicable Saudi Arabia’s system of gender apartheid truly is, this is it.
A 19-year-old woman who was gang-raped 14 times last year has been sentenced by a Saudi court to 200 lashes and a six-month prison sentence for being in the car of an unrelated man at the time of the attack. Originally she was sentenced to a "mere" 90 lashes, but when she tried to fight the court’s decision, it increased the severity of the penalty because judges claimed she had attempted to aggravate and influence the judicial system by making use of the media. Not only that, but her lawyer has been effectively disbarred for agreeing to take on the case.
Just in case you missed the key points here, the girl is being punished for:
- being in an unrelated man’s car at the time of the rape,
- reporting the rape,
- and publicly contesting the incredibly unjust ruling.
If you don’t think this is indicative of a sick society, check your head.
An appeal court in Saudi Arabia has doubled the number of lashes and added a jail sentence as punishment for a woman who was gang-raped.
The victim was initially punished for violating laws on segregation of the sexes - she was in an unrelated man’s car at the time of the attack.
When she appealed, the judges said she had been attempting to use the media to influence them.
The attackers’ sentences - originally of up to five years - were doubled.
Extra penalties
According to the Arab News newspaper, the 19-year-old woman, who is from Saudi Arabia’s Shia minority, was gang-raped 14 times in an attack in the eastern province a year-and-a-half ago.
Seven men from the majority Sunni community were found guilty of the rape and sentenced to prison terms ranging from just under a year to five years.
But the victim was also punished for violating Saudi Arabia’s laws on segregation that forbid unrelated men and women from associating with each other. She was initially sentenced to 90 lashes for being in the car of a strange man.
On appeal, the Arab News reported that the punishment was not reduced but increased to 200 lashes and a six-month prison sentence.
The rapists also had their prison terms doubled. But the sentences are still low considering they could have faced the death penalty.
The Arab News quoted an official as saying the judges had decided to punish the girl for trying to aggravate and influence the judiciary through the media.
The victim’s lawyer was suspended from the case, has had his licence to work confiscated, and faces a disciplinary session.
source Tags: dumb news, saudi arabia, gender apartheid, misogyny, rape, sick society
Related Stories
POSTED IN: Dumb Criminals, Dumb Pictures, Idiot, Political Stupidity
11 opinions for Rape in Saudi Arabia: Punishing the Victim
Bonnie
Nov 16, 2007 at 5:07 am
This is SUCH a miscarriage of justice. I feel so sorry for the poor girl. This ruling will probably greatly discourage other rape victims from coming forward. Such a shame.
Rita Colgan
Nov 16, 2007 at 5:25 am
In spite of of what people still think, this is proof we live in a free society. America. Love it , or leave it.
Tasos
Nov 16, 2007 at 5:55 am
This is sick.. these people live still in middle ages. * Though they are just victims of the way they are grown up, they don’t seem to even try self-improve since ages. Its really sad, how can one feel happy in a world that happens shit like this…
rapidilla
Nov 16, 2007 at 6:46 am
Es vergonzoso, y lo malo es que no hacemos nada. en multitud de ocasiones he tenido la oportunidad de visitar turísitcamente algunos lugares gestionados bajo leyes islamicas, y me niego rotundamente a ir a sitios donde tienen la desfachatez de tratar a las mujeres de esta forma,lo malo es que creo que somos en ocasiones las mismas mujeres la que educamos a los hombres para que se comporten de esta forma. MUJERES DEL MUNDO UNIROS CONTRA ESTOS TIPEJOS COBARDES QUE SABEN QUE EN NU8ESTROS VIENTRES GUARDAMOS EL PODER.
Milton Finnegan
Nov 16, 2007 at 7:40 am
I this is an act of stupidity in Saudi Arabia. This is why I believe that those who move here to the U.S. and have the gall to insult us, use our own protective laws against us so they can express thier freedoms, freedoms in which if they were in Saudi Arabia for example, they could be punished for insulting the government and or people in power.
Phil A
Nov 17, 2007 at 10:48 am
There is something deeply repulsive about a system that will treat victims of a viscious hate crime (and I say hate crime because the pair attacked were of the minority Shia and the attackers were Sunni) like this and feel it justified. I have posted about it at more length here
This is a regime the UK does a large amount of business with. Maybe we shouldn’t – Like that’ll haoppen.
Maybe someone suitably placed should have a quiet word though. After all the UK authorities listened to the Saudi concerns over the Serious Fraud Office’s investigation into Saudi arms deals.
bill
Nov 20, 2007 at 1:45 pm
Think of it in our terms. Bank Robbery is against the law. So, if someone robs a bank and on the way home gets raped, that doesn’t obsolve them of the bank robbery charge.
The fact that she was in a car with an unmarried man who wasn’t a relative is her crime. She should have known better living in that area. Saudi, love it or leave it.
Phil A
Nov 21, 2007 at 12:50 am
* Well that makes it perfectly all right then - Not.
rapidilla
Nov 21, 2007 at 3:47 am
¡Nooo! No estoy en nada de acuerdo, tienen que castigar tambien a los violadores, hay entonces dos delitos el de ella al infringir las leyes de su pais, que son totalmente obsoletas, dicho sea de paso, pero tambien tienen que castigar a los violadores.
Stephanie
Nov 25, 2007 at 7:38 am
Oh my days! Poor Saudi girl..
No Roses for Saudis on Valentine’s Day
Feb 11, 2008 at 2:05 pm
[…] nice to know that one of our closest “allies” in the Middle East is looking out for the best interests of its impressionable […]
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: