A Saudi woman sentenced to 200 lashes after she was gang-raped claims her brother tried to kill her when he learned of the attack.
The woman, known only as Qatif Girl after the area where the crime occurred, also described how she tried to commit suicide after the assault. The interview was recorded by Human Rights Watch in December 2006 and released recently.
"Everyone looks at me as if I'm wrong. I couldn't even continue my studies. I wanted to die. I tried to commit suicide twice," the woman said of the aftermath of the attack in which she was raped at knifepoint by seven men as a former boyfriend was driving her home.
Unlike other Arab countries, we hear little about honour killings in Saudi Arabia. This is probably because of police complicity in hushing them up. In today's Arab News there is an article about violence against women which discusses local reaction to this case:-
We note a shift in public discourse concerning this case; it has effectively turned from a gang rape — in which the rapists were the perpetrators — to a case of seduction in which the girl is the seducer and guilty party. Some scholars have expressed their belief that the girl and her “partners” deserve the death penalty. Notice please the use of the word “partners.” The word “partner” usually suggests a voluntary link or association.
. . .
It has been interesting to follow the online comments from readers and members of the public about the case. A shift in perspective has become very clear; now there are voices asking for stoning and some are asking for death — for the girl of course.
Why am I not surprised?
1 comment:
The Ministry of Justice certainly achieved its goal. By smearing the girl, they thought they could get away with murder.
I guess that is the next step, to murder the woman by judicial means if the comments by judge reported in the media are correct.
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