When we ran the ad above, we were widely derided as spreading falsehood. But in fact, in Islam the victim of rape is all too often to blame, for she has sullied the family’s honor by engaging in sexual immorality. The fact that it was forced upon her makes no difference at all.
Think this is only something that greasy Islamophobes say?
Think again. We have seen a Muslim rape victim ostracized in India; the charging of a rape victim in Pakistan with adultery; Islamic clerics in Pakistan opposing attempts to end the equating of rape with adultery; a rape victim marrying her attacker in order to avoid being shunned; another rape victim converting to Islam in order to marry her attacker for the same reason; the sentencing of a victim of gang rape in Saudi Arabia to 200 lashes; the sentencing of another victim of gang-rape, a pregnant woman, to 100 lashes; the stoning of a rape victim in Somalia; nine-year-old rape victims in Iran rejected by their families and living on the streets; a Muslim rape victim in India ordered by Islamic clerics to leave her husband; a rape victim in Jordan murdered by her uncle to cleanse the family’s honor; and on and on.
“Girl kills herself after being forced to marry her rapist,” from Al-Alam, November 23 (thanks to Pamela Geller):
A Moroccan has killed herself last month after she was forced to marry the man who raped her by her family.In March 2012, 16-year-old Filali committed suicide in the northern town of Larache by taking rat poison after she was forced to marry her rapist.
Her death provoked several demonstrations and the Twitter hashtag #RIPAmina to demand the repeal of Article 475.According to Article 475, a rapist can avoid a prison sentence by marrying his victim. The law is based on a similar measure in France.
The girl’s family has refused to grant interviews to the press.The Qatari Al Jazeera news network quoted Abdel Ali El-Allawi, director of the local chapter of the international NGO the Moroccan Association of Human Rights (AMDH) as saying that the girl was raped by another minor.
“He was put in prison,” said Allawi. “The family of the rapist entered negotiations with the family of the victim. They proposed the two get married”.
“These are things that are common here in Morocco. When a man rapes a woman or girl, the justice authorities say, you have a choice — you can marry the girl or go to prison.”
In Moroccan society, a woman who loses her virginity — even by rape — is considered unmarriageable, explained AMDH president Khadija Riyadi.
“There’s a mentality that says that a girl that’s no longer a virgin is worthless,” she said.For families who cannot afford to financially support an unmarriageable daughter, arranging for her to marry her assailant may feel like the only solution, Riyadi added.
“The girl is a victim of tradition and society — but also the law,” said Allawi.
Both Riyadi and Allawi thought Article 475 had already been modified to bar rapists from escaping prison terms, but according to Al Jazeera Morocco’s justice minister said the legislation is still waiting to be passed by lawmakers.
“Until now, it’s still just a law project that’s being considered by parliament but hasn’t been rectified. We have not yet formally edited the article,” Justice Minister Mustapha Ramid was quoted.