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November 2, 2005

UK: Why Do Muslims Think A Victim Of Rape Is Shameful?

Normally, a person who has been a victim of rape is seen as a victim of a vicious sexual assault. For some Muslims, as in Pakistan, the victim of rape is considered an adulteress, and male perpetrators of rape are rarely punished. We mentioned yesterday the French charity "ni putes ni soumises" which campaigns against abuse of women in Muslim communities, where gang rape is offered up as a "punishment". A patron of the charity, the late Samira Bellil, found herself expelled from her Algerian parent's French home when she spoke publicly of being gang-raped three times.

In Britain, where rape is considered a dishonour for the perpetrator and not the victim (who generally elicits sympathy), the Muslim community appears to still place the guilt upon the female victim, and expects the man to be allowed to get away scot-free. This is the message inferred from a disturbing case from Newcastle, reported in icnewcastle.

A Muslim woman, who is in her 40s and is disabled, was raped more than a year ago by a Muslim restaurant worker, 32-year old Mohammed Ishtiaq from Benwell Road, Newcastle. The rape victim went to the police. Last year the Muslim rapist was sentenced to eight years' jail. But for the Muslim victim, the path to justice was neither easy nor sraightforward because of the actions of another Muslim woman, who was determined to prevent the case being heard.

39-year old Ferdos Ali, who hardly knew the victim, tried to exert pressure upon the victim, Newcastle Crown Court heard:

The mother-of-seven visited the victim at her home, urging her to consider the shame the case would bring upon her, her family and that of her attacker Mohammed Ishtiaq.

She also tried to persuade a female witness to back off and even accompanied the victim to a solicitor's appointment to encourage her to drop her allegation.Ali put further pressure on the victim - who is in her 40s - at a meeting with police to determine the strength of the case.

Ali acted, she said, to protect the Muslim community. She has now been found guilty of attempting to pervert the court of justice. Judge Tony Lancaster stated that he accepted that Ferdos Ali had acted to protect the Muslim community name, and suggested she had acted under pressure from others but stated "it has to be understood that people who involve themselves in seeking to prevent witnesses from giving evidence must realise a prison sentence is inevitable. This type of practice undermines the whole process of justice and must be treated seriously."

He sentenced Ali to eight months' imprisonment, suspended for two years.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at November 2, 2005 1:46 PM

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