An article was posted on CNN's website by Hilary Whiteman on February 28th titled "Maldives teen faces 100 lashes for fornication". The article centers around a 15 year old girl from the Islamic country of Maldives who has been sentenced to receive 100 lashes and 8 months of house arrest for engaging in consensual premarital sex. The charge was brought against the girl after authorities discovered a dead baby and began questioning the girl. Although information has not been released about whether or not the teenage girl is actually the baby's mother, or who the baby's father might be, the girl did confess to having had premarital sex and this offense is punishable under the country's Islamic Sharia laws.
Due to the girl being 15 years old and classified as a minor, her name nor any other information regarding the case has been disclosed, but the group Amnesty International has told CNN that the same girl was allegedly the victim of sexual abuse by my stepfather. Besides Amnesty International, this case has attracted the attention of many other human rights groups around the world, including the well-known group, Human Rights Watch. These groups and other critics have claimed that authorities should have given the girl legal guidance and protection before she made any type of confession or the case was seen in court. Further remarks have been made that the confession from the girl should not be counted as evidence due to her past experience of sexual abuse, and that if she had initially denied the charges then the case would not have proceeded.
Many of the human rights groups are calling upon the country of Maldives to drop the changes against the girl and for changes to be made to the laws that govern these types of cases and punishments. The articles claims that a spokesperson for the Maldives government spoke to CNN and noted that the government considers the young girl as a victim, not an offender, and that they do not believe the girl should be flogged, but that the government is not able to intervene in the judicial process. The spokesperson mentioned that if a law like the one in this case is to be changed then there are many steps that have to be taken before it would be able to pass to the legislature. The article then goes on to say that even though the spokesperson for the government claimed to condemn the charges and sentencing being brought against the girl, he also cited that the lashings are not very painful and that the punishment is merely 'ceremonial" and seen as a "token exercise".
The case presented in this article is truly horrifying, though I'm sure similar situations and worse can be found all around the world. In this particular case is not only sad in that the young girl in question should be able to live out her life without the fear of abuse/sexual abuse from her stepfather, but she should also be able to trust her country's government and judicial branches to protect her and her well-being, not subject her to cruel and unruly punishments. No matter how negative the act of premarital sex may be seen in a country, no one should have to endure such painful and devastating of an act as lashings/floggings. Not only is such a punishment physically harmful, but the emotional/psychological aspect of having to endure such an experience is surely just as devastation. Instead of focusing on punishing a young 15 year old girl for a non-violent, victimless crime, the government of Maldives should be trying to bring the girl's stepfather to justice for charges of sexual abuse.
Article: http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/27/world/asia/maldives-teen-100-lashes/index.html?hpt=wo_c2
Brittany Briceno
03.02.2013
7:39PM
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