Consider:
A simple morning wakens you this day, a morning like most others. You go about your usual routines and as you complete them you get ready to go into town to run a few errands. In high spirits, you select some of your favorite, colorfully-exciting garments and with joy you decorate yourself in preparation for an eventful day out. As you are ready to step outside the door, you throw on your Saudi-style triple layered burkha with traditional enthusiasm and ensure that no part of it interferes with your visual perceptions of the day. You enter the city and shortly after, the market. The colors and sounds are so familiar, yet still so exciting. Busy footsteps on dusty streets, thousands of them, muffled voices and a rare recognizable phrase you would normally hear in the market place “How much do you want,” “Show me those.” While quickly gathering all the necessary items you absorb every moment through a sheer veil covering your eyes. You begin to head home, hands full of grocery bags when a gentleman in a car stops by you. A family friend offering a ride, an acquaintance stopping to say hello, or perhaps just an unknown male blackmailing you and instructing you to get in his car? As it is tradition and law that you obey the instructions presented by this man, you enter the vehicle and are taken to the nearby shopping mall. A short and questionably pleasant ride leaves you back on the street somewhat closer to your destination. Focused and a little bit rushed, you proceed home. The smells of the market are far behind you and the rhythm of shuffling feet has faded. Avoiding eye contact, you walk towards a group of 7 young men who happened to be on your path. You feel their gaze already upon you, leering, ogling, scheming; You hear muffled words and frequent laughs. In passing them you feel uncomfortable, watched, invaded almost, and so you begin to elegantly glide with your head down, ghost-like in a way, hoping to attract the least amount of attention while swiftly removing yourself from the situation. It seems your hopes are misplaced this day for it is not long before your confusion sets in and the harsh reality begins to elaborate.
Dark and heavy hands, grabbing you, pushing you, taking you, the stench of evil paints blackness before your eyes as your psyche desperately attempts to manipulate your soul away from the place you are in. Away from the place where your favorite fabrics are torn from your defenseless body exposing all the most sacred parts and beautifully pure mysteries of your womanhood. You feel stings upon your face, followed by throbbing pain and then numbness from multiple strikes of various fists on your since gone smile. At this point the taste of your own blood almost calms you, reminding you that you are still alive. Burning sensations from rubbing skin of tight grips that have bound your arms and legs, begin to fade as the fear of what’s to come presents you with a pain so deep that at this moment you embrace death and begin to wish for it. Death is the only thing that can separate you from this hell. The strong fumes of stale body odor of extremities that surround you gets stronger as you begin to sense them on body parts where another’s hand has never trespassed till this day. Eyes shut so tightly, saving no room for tears to flow but to simply pour down the sides of your face, stinging you as they flood the open wounds that will haunt you for the rest of your days should you survive this terror. As the torture proceeds, pain builds inside you and you feel a change. An emotion so strong yet ironically unexpected overcomes you as your pulse speeds up and adrenaline kicks in, RAGE! You are alert, hearing 7 distinct voices and demonic laughs, barbaric groans and lustful moans. You smell 7 distinct persons and each drop of their sweat as it meets with any and every part of your body. The pain starts to fade; your anger eats at it as your courage and will begin fighting for your life. Your blood shot eyes dare to gaze upon the devils that tear at your flesh as you give up searching for the answer as to why all this has come to be your reality. They have taken your body, now you fight for your soul. These seven men, 7 thrusting pelvises, the multiple soils of ejaculation and the taste of blood and semen in your mouth have been engraved into your memory. You are a 19-year-old girl fighting for your life, gang-raped 14 times by seven men in Saudi Arabia. You’ve managed to survive and covered in blood, you return home only to meet the shamed fists of your brother.
If the above story left you feeling uneasy and a little bit disturbed, then good, for it is a fictional account based on actual events that took place a year and a half ago. Sadly the disgusting details of this event did not cease with the attack, but continued to become more appalling throughout the ensuing trial and sentencing.
The young Saudi girl in question was found guilty of violating laws on segregation of the sexes that forbid unrelated men and women from associating with each other. Now you may be thinking, “what the fuck?” Yes, it’s true. Before the attack, she was seen in an unrelated man’s car and since that appears to be the most vital information in the case, she was sentenced to 90 lashings. What the hell are lashings? I thought those went out of style after Mel Gibson overused them in The Passion of Christ, but I guess some governments still believe in ancient torture traditions, keeping in touch with their roots, like the wonderful sport of stoning that still hasn’t died out and continues to make a come back in news headlines from time to time. Hey, if more countries embrace this exciting world of stoning and lashing maybe we could make it an Olympic sport and get a bunch of women who talked to some guys, put potato sacks over their heads with a hole cut out for the eyes and get them to run around in an open field until their skull is crushed by a stone or skin ripped open by a whip. Better yet, let’s start putting money down on who’s gonna get taken out first.
Now, the demon rapists were sentenced as well by the honorable judges to between 2 and 5 years in prison, those poor boys. If you ask me, I’d say just leave them all tied naked to a bed and let Lorena Bobbit have a field day. Oddly enough, the sentence didn’t sit too well with the young rape victim. After a courageous appeal, our little victim saw justice prevail as her attackers’ sentence was doubled (Lorena not included). Unfortunately, said judges were determined to keep it “fair.” Due to the fact that they believed, as wise as they are, that the young girl, that manipulating whore, was trying to cunningly aggravate and influence the judiciary through the media with her appeal, they upped her sentence as well. She was presented with the gift of 200 lashings and 6 months imprisonment. Her lawyer, who was just doing his job, was suspended from the case, had his legal license revoked, and apparently faces a “disciplinary session” (some sort of punishment along the lines of a 100 blows to the head with a baseball bat with rusty nails sticking out of it, I’m sure).
This brings us almost to the end. All that’s left to be written is my rant so here goes … Ok, so this planet is officially fucked up! This incident is, as many are, a direct insult to women’s rights and all we’ve been fighting for. Come on you “non-profit” organizations for battered and abused women, for rape and sexual assault victims, let’s get with this whole global concept. Despite the clearly fucked up justice system in Saudi Arabia, which I might get into more in a future article, can we at least attempt to evolve and take a perhaps more “humane” approach to judicial punishment? Come on, get with the times, even the electric chair isn’t all that anymore. Oh and in case you didn’t know, here’s a hint; a woman’s wrath is something you don’t want to fuck with for too long. It’s a power unlike you’ve ever seen before, so one of these days, all these lovely ladies, I assure you, will get royally pissed off and there will be hell to pay. In the mean time, to all you burkha-wearing beauties; For fuck sakes, carry a knife. It’s not like the bastards can I.D. you in a line up.
You can follow the story and get involved at the following links:
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Further developments to the story. Apparently the young woman confessed to having an extra-marital affair. Not sure how the confession was obtained/extracted under duress. BBC article HERE.
Demanding your politicians speak up against violence is our civil duty to those who don’t have a voice. If you get a response like the one that follows…pass on the word to everyone on your contact list and ask them to do the same!
Dear Canadian,
This letter is in response to your recent correspondence concerning the horrific treatment of a rape victim in Saudi Arabia. Together with my colleagues we are concerned about the flogging and jail sentence of “the Woman from al-Qatif” by the government of Saudi Arabia.
The protection of human rights around the world is a core value of Canada and of our foreign policy. As Official Opposition Critic for Human Rights, I believe we need to take a leading role in the protection and support of the innocent and vulnerable, and call on the government of Saudi Arabia to end this persistent and pervasive assault on human rights.
Indeed, the disbarment of the victim’s lawyer – Abdul-Rahman al-Lahem – a human rights activist, only dramatizes the need for legal reforms in Saudi Arabia.
I am pleased that the Government of Canada has responded to calls from the Opposition and denounced these human rights abuses. Canada, as a leader in the struggle for human rights and human dignity, must seek to advance – as a matter of both principle and policy, the fundamental rights of Saudi Arabians.
Thank you for your correspondence. I share your concern and we will continue to raise our voice on the matter.
Sincerely,
Office of / Bureau de Hon. Irwin Cotler, P.C., O.C. / C.P., O.C.
M.P. for Mount Royal / Député de Mont-Royal
Tel / Tél.: 613-995-0121 Fax / Téléc.: 613-992-6762
========================================
November 23, 2007
Liberal Critic for Human Rights Irwin Cotler
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
Dear Prime Minister Harper:
I am appalled at the horrific treatment of the young woman from al-Qatif, by
the government of Saudi Arabia. She has been sentenced to flogging and jail after having been abducted and gang raped by seven men. I urge you to demand that Saudi Arabia, a declared ally in the fight for democracy and human rights:
* immediately halt the floggings
* drop the charges against the young woman
* reform its legal system so as to comply with its international human rights obligations.
Please take immediate action. I await your reply.
Clearly this is but one example of how religious fundamentalism is intolerant and hateful… One cannot help but wonder where the outrage from all the human rights groups is. I hate to say it, but had this scenario played out with Christian attackers and a Christian government, the ACLU and every other so-called rights organization would be worked into a frenzy. Why the silence here though? Could it be that people are terrified of upsetting Islamic fundamentalists? Could it be that our government is in bed with Saudi oil barons so this outrage is ignored? Maybe its a combination of both. Furthermore, why do the majority of Muslims who are not fundamentalist remain silent?
I’m so glad you brought up these questions Woland cause as I was writing the article I was constantly led in that direction. The North American governments have bombed smaller countries that in one way or another took the law into their own hands when it came to human rights, what’s the hold up here then? Something definitely stinks! Who’s to say that the American government didn’t approve this behavior and told the Saudis to keep it under wraps (considering how often cases like these occur in those parts of the world)cause if it got out people like us may stir up a frenzy so huge that the government would be forced to retaliate. After all, the victims sentence was doubled because she had appealed and stirred up the media. And since practically all of North America, if not the world, is completely brain washed and distracted by the media, an incident like this is bound to raise a few eyebrows. I would assume that the Saudis made a fine example of the victim that now I highly doubt any other raped Saudi woman would have the strength to come forth or have the desire to. I wouldn’t be surprised if the numbers of rape reports in this part of the world suddenly dropped. Now the question is, did this victim’s story make enough of an impact for someone in power from our governments to respond with an action plan or are Islamic women not worth as much as the oil? I haven’t heard anything yet…
The Saudi king pardons the rape victim (though there is no inference the sentence itself was wrong, harsh or unjustified). Also no word on whether she has already received some of her lashes or the pardon gets her away whip-free. BBC article HERE.