A 15-year-old rape victim from the island of Feydhoo in Shaviyani Atoll was convicted of premarital sex at the Juvenile Court today and sentenced to 100 lashes and eight months of house arrest.
In June 2012, the girl gave birth to a baby that was discovered buried in the outdoor shower area of her home. Her stepfather was later charged with child sexual abuse, possession of pornographic materials and committing premeditated murder.
Her mother was meanwhile charged with concealing a crime and failing to report child sexual abuse to the authorities.
An official from the Prosecutor General (PG)’s office told Minivan News in January this year that the fornication charges against the minor were related to a separate offence of premarital sex that emerged during the police investigation. The charges were filed on November 25, 2012.
In its verdict delivered today, the Juvenile Court ordered the state to transfer the girl to the Children’s Home in Villigili to enforce the sentence of eight months house arrest, according to local media reports.
The girl reportedly confessed at the trial to having consensual premarital sex.
The Islamic Shariah punishment of flogging would be administered when the girl turns 18. However, the sentence could be implemented earlier should the minor request expedition, a court official explained to local media.
In late January, the PG’s Office told Minivan News that it was reviewing the decision to press charges against the minor. Two hearings at the Juvenile Court were subsequently cancelled upon request by the PG.
However, the trial resumed after the PG decided earlier this month not to withdraw the charges.
Officials from the PG were unavailable today to clarify whether the male offender faced the same charge of premarital sex.
The case of the 15 year-old had prompted concern from the executive following international media coverage. The government announced last month that it would review and “correct” laws that victimise young women and minors who have suffered sexual abuse.
President’s Office Spokesperson Masood Imad told Minivan News that from government’s perspective, the 15 year-old girl was a victim who needed to be protected, not punished by authorities.
“We will be talking with the Ministry of Islamic Affairs over this manner and will review and correct the problem,” he said.
Masood said that the Maldives had experienced a number of similar cases of late where young women had been victimised and punished by authorities – a situation he said the government was looking to prevent.
“We are reviewing this right now and if we have to go to the extent of changing existing laws then we would look to do this,” he said.
“Absolute outrage”
The criminal charges against the minor was slammed by Amnesty International last month, which called the prosecution “an absolute outrage.”
“This is an absolute outrage, regardless of the reason for her charges. Victims of rape or other forms of sexual abuse should be given counselling and support – not charged with a crime,” said Abbas Faiz, Amnesty International’s Maldives Researcher.
“We urge the Maldivian authorities to immediately drop all charges against the girl, ensure her safety and provide her with all necessary support.
“Flogging is a violation of the absolute prohibition on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment. The Maldivian authorities should immediately end its use regardless of circumstances. The fact that this time a 15-year old girl who has suffered terribly is at risk makes it all the more reprehensible,” said Faiz.
“Flogging is not only wrong and humiliating, but can lead to long-term psychological as well as physical scars.”
In response to a Minivan News report in 2009 of an 18 year-old woman fainting after a 100 lashes, Amnesty International called for a moratorium on the “inhumane and degrading punishment.”
Of the 184 people sentenced to public flogging in 2006, 146 were female, making it nine times more likely for women to be punished.
In November 2011, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay urged the authorities to impose a moratorium on flogging and to foster national dialogue and debate “on this issue of major concern.”
“This practice constitutes one of the most inhumane and degrading forms of violence against women, and should have no place in the legal framework of a democratic country,” the UN human rights chief told MPs during a maiden visit to the Maldives.
Her remarks sparked protests by Islamic groups outside the UN building and drew condemnation from the Islamic Ministry, NGOs and political parties.
According to statistics from the Department of Judicial Administration, almost 90 percent of those convicted of fornication in 2011 was female.
Of 129 fornication cases in 2011, 104 people were sentenced, out of which 93 were female. This included 10 underage girls, 79 women aged 18-40 and and four women above 40 years.
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If somebody actually saw the flogging that is done in Maldives and thought about the punishment otherwise such as languishing in a jail for years, any sane person will take the flogging. because contrary to the hype, the flogging is never violent or frenzied as is we are made to believe. The whole idea is to shame the criminal so that he or she will not repeat the crime.
As for being underage, Israel also treats girls older than 14 as mature. so why doesn't somebody bash them? Or is my country getting the bashing because of my colour? some body thought yet about racism?
Another example of how indescribably backward and primitive the so called "morality" of Islam and its laws are. To punish a victim of crime who already suffered unspeakably is to show the world that you are not only not human in your beliefs, you are less than animal. But then again, what can be expected from a religion whose founder was a proud murderer and a pedophile.
Dont you see this is just WRONG.
The islamic law and its rules, whatever they are - they shouldnt be followed! She went through hell - got fucked by her dad and saw her own baby get murdered and buried under her own roof - and then some kid has sex with her - and SHE gets punished - The GUY is committing a crime by having sex with a minor girl - and its the DADS fault that she is already thinking about sex at the age of 15! The guy probably raped her and threatened her if she said it wasnt consentual!!! USE YOUR BRAIN! SHAME ON ALL OF YOU WHO SUPPORT THESE LAWS THAT ONLY SUPPORT THE ABUSE OF WOMEN AND NOT MEN!!!
The Maldives needs to sink fast. Utter inbred barbarians living on these islands.
Bravo Nasira! You're right...this is not religion. And true religion is much more beautiful than this. Why does Islam want to flog morality into people? And that too their antiquated ideas of morality? And to answer another guy up the list...if she had consensual sex with 'Jim', that wouldn't have happened had the girl not been introduced to sex at a young age, which was not her choice. Punish the step-father. Counsel the child, although I shudder to think what kind of counselling she'll get in Maldives. The despicably cruel rules of Islam were made to bring various 'barbaric' desert tribals to heel. Are the people of Maldives so 'barbaric' that they need the Shariah to 'save' them? If Shariah worked, there would be no floggings in Saudi Arabia today. Instead hundreds are flogged there everyday. And I feel Islam is absolutely anti-women. It says Allah made men, and the devil made women to tempt the men from the path of righteousness. No wonder the women are punished and otherwise covered up and caged, while the men go scot free. I urge all Maldivians to get together and throw away the yoke of Radical Islam. It is a sickness that Saudi Arabia is speading all over the world through its oil money. Remember, the nation that does not respect and value its women is a nation of unhappy mothers, and that nation has not long to live.
@Amanda Fenwick, I'd bet the only education that Mowafaq got was from the madrassa, where he also learnt how to hate Jews, Christians, homosexuals and atheists.
@Nasira, your country is done for if people like you don't stand up and defend what is right. Speak up for true human values and do not be afraid. There is nothing good that can come out of a society dominated by religious fanaticism. If other Muslim societies can by and large progress as proper members of the human race, I don't see why your country can't. The other alternative is to leave such a barbaric interpretation of Islam. Humanism and respect for human life and dignity requires no religion!
Agree with 'Nasira' - if they truely believe this to be a crime that deserve such a punishment, why not strap them both to the same pole and they be flogged together. Where are the men in all this, in the side lines watching the girls get flogged 100 times?!!
It seems as though, its seen as the sole responsibility of the women and the men are excused on the grounds of 'they're men'
If 104 out of 129 cases are sentenced and 93 are women,82 women did not go chasing and twisting the arms of men, begging to be slept with. How can any man, if they were any kind of a man, stand by long enough for this to still be okayed and accepted as a law, it shows a pathetic undeniable hatred for women.
@ Human being.
I understand the need to keep the younger generation from falling into the trap that the west seem to be in, where its seen as the norm to have children as young as 10yr olds sleeping around, but to torture a 15yr old girl (your little sister or daughter)to the point of ripping the flesh off her back, for the sake of teaching WOMEN a lesson just seems soo beneath human. Lets face it, that law was meant for women.
As for the 'carry on living life as normal' comment,how do you think her back would look after 100 lashing, its not going to fade in a few months, she will have to carry that branding around for the rest of her life, affecting any future relationship she will ever have, you might as well burn 'whore' into her back.
In this case, by the age of 18, she would have been rape, had her child murdered, flogged 100 times for that, put under house arrest and branded for the rest of her life. But I guess you'd have no problem 'living the rest of your life as usual' after that.
@Justice
What would you consider unforgivably enough as reason for his behaviour towards his wife? Would it be ok if i beat you with a dozen thorne roses because i justified it to myself? NO
If a woman decides she no longer wants to be with her husband, does he then have just cause to throw acid in her face so no one would ever want her again, because he deemed it unforgivable? They seem to think so in India.
What is wrong with the world is that people try and succeed in finding reasons and justification behind such animal like behaviour, to the point that we now have governments making laws which justify barbaric acts in the name of the law or religion.
No law or religion or self appointed judge should give any man the right to do such a thing to a woman. We have gone past the age of wearing loin cloths and thinking the earth was flat, yet men still think like APES!!!
She actually didn't break the law because she is a child. She was raped by her father and raped by the man that she supposedly had consensual sex with.
Doesn't the law say that anyone under 17 is considered a minor (child) and therefore can't consent/agree to sex with an adult?
So if a man has sex with a 10 year old girl, and the girl admits that it was consensual, she is also a criminal? Is a 5 year old able to consent? 14 year old? 2 year old? Or is the idea that all females are whores from birth and therefore the concept of rape is impossible?
Why do you crackpot fundamentalists make your wives wear burqas and then dress your 4 year old girls like miniature prostitutes? Your women are covered while the little girls are wearing make-up, party dresses and jewelry.
You can criticize the west all you want. But it doesn't change that fact that you are still a rapist and a pedophile if you have sex with a minor. Even if her daddy dressed her up like a whore.
wow, yea right, take it out on the victim,.. shame on these judges and the legal system, and shame on the people who stand by and do nothing.
This girl is first of all a rape victim, and the judges think it's fair to flog her, FOR BEING RAPED?, I think I'll sue these judges in the Human rights courts, so when they go on vacation they will get arrested.
This legislation, as part of the common law practiced alongside Sharia, set the precedent that no child below 13 can consent to sex and that any sexual relations will be deemed as child abuse. The same law also adds in clause 25 that no child between 13 – 17 can consent to sex either ,”unless proven otherwise”.
So there's my answer, you are officially a whore at age 13 in Maldives. Sorry, I should have researched more thoroughly. Sex with a 12 year old is rape, but sex with a 13 year old is consensual. Because we all know that teenagers are capable of making sound decisions about their life and can't possibly be influenced by an adult.
I'm assuming the "unless proven otherwise" part is where the girl in this case got screwed (pun intended). She admitted to consenting which makes her a criminal and not a victim.
But again, why hasn't the man been identified, prosecuted and punished as well? Her statements are enough to incriminate herself but not the man? I don't quite understand how that works. More proof is needed for the man to be prosecuted but she is automatically guilty.
It must be nice being a Maldivian man. Any time a crime is committed, blame it on the woman or closest Bangladeshi. Meanwhile you get to sit in a cafe drinking coffee and smoking cigs while they're being punished. It's good to be the king!
@Rebecca
You are dead wrong about flogging. You have obviously not seen flogging or canning or any such thing. flogging as is done in Maldives is almost symbolic. Flesh is not ripped and scars cannot simply appear.
@Himanshu
"Why does Islam want to flog morality into people?" You have no clue about islam whatsoever. Do you honestly believe that 1.6 billion people will believe in a cruel way of life? We muslims also have hearts, sweathearts, kids families and abhor cruelty to all life forms. Its hurtful when somebody says bad things about our way of life just out of ignorance. Please educate yourself.
@ human being, luckily all Muslims are not fools like you and does not agree with such injustice and cruelty. As a fellow Muslim I can say that it's a pity that fools like you exist among the 1.6 billion Muslims in the world who bring such shame to our faith.
@Human being.
To correct you on your 'fact' based statement, I have seen a girl been held face down by two men while being flogged in the street in Saudi and I had to walk away, the fact that they needed to have her held down maked it seem a little more public beating and a little less symbolic.
This is a reoccurring thing in various parts of the world, flogging, canning, stoning... they all may not be as nice about it as they might be in the Maldives, but its the same justification for all of them.
Who judges the level of pain inflicted, a flogging in the Maldives might be the same as spanking a child in the States, but the same law might also allows a women to be beaten or stoned within an inch of her life in Somalia.
Amnesty international are not involved because they have nothing to do, if it really is as 'symbolic' as you claim.
Again to correct your 'fact' based statement, this has nothing to do with race or religion, I'm Mauritian and none of my comments were aimed at the Islamic religion. Islam is not the only religion that approves of flogging, canning or stoning as a punishment.
This has to do with one of many laws that allows women to be publicly punish, while over looking the equally guilty male participants.
If the main aim was to stop premarital sex, the headlines would read 'man and woman convicted of fornication', not 'WOMAN convicted', or in this case 'under-age rape victim'.
82 women didnt sleep with themselves, did they?
She is not a baby .. a girl whose Age is 15.so i agree with what BB has said "People who talk about hudood, should first realise that there is a hudhoodh for rape . And the prophet himself implimented death on a man who committed rape."
@human being
Your efforts to hide the worst punishment is credible. I am impressed at your continued effort to whitewash this miscarriage of justice.
You know what the judiciary here does after the flogging? Her name will now have a criminal record, and in Maldives, that is worse than a death sentence. She is doomed to be unable to find a legitimate job, doomed into a vicious cycle of drugs, crime, prostitution and despair.
I hope you suffer a fate worse than death yourself, for you are deserving of one.
For Government Spokesperson Masood Imad, for Amnesty's Maldives Representative Abbas Faiz, for the writers of this blog and for the commentors who have spoken out against this human rights violation, YOUR COURAGE IS INSPIRATIONAL.
I believe you ALL will be rewarded for your courage, I pray that you will be kept safe from harm.
@Just for clarification
Were you a witness? Did you take part? Start talking, or else it's the electric chair for you.
@ Maldivian Man,
Do you claim to know the future? I just happen to know a very pious family (rich-middle class by Maldivies standards), the lady of the family had two children out of wedlock. she was also abused, got flogged in public and now she is just a symbol of a good woman. I also repeat that flogging here is just like spanking and is just like a psychological method of rewiring a bad brain. infinitely better than locking up with bad people for years in a jail.
I agree with Amnesty International. Also violence begets violence so how can a government hope to govern a peaceful country when they rule with violence? It doesn't make any sense and puts this country into the same human rights violation bucket as the USA.
@ human being
Reading your comments on several occasions and news, leaves me hoping badly, that you get flogged at least twice daily.
This would make you also a symbol and a better person.
No fear - it is just like spanking ...
May brains fall out of the sky and you might have one for yourself an use it.
The real discussion here should not be about the depth of injustice perpetrated on the child victim. The answers to understanding why this is occurring in the 21 century is to understand what Islam and those who interpret it actually is. The difference between predatory cults such as Islam and other religions or spiritual belief systems, is that a true spirituality attempts to bring out the best in people, whereas a predatory cult does the opposite.
Muslims inhabit a different moral universe from the rest of us, where good is evil and evil is good, IF it serves the purposes of Islam.
While other religions teach goodwill to mankind, Islam teaches hostility to all non-members of the cult.
In Islam, charity applies only to fellow Muslims, (and in fact many Islamic charities are money-launderers for jihadists.)
There is no Golden Rule in Islam. There is no place for conscience in Islam. Peel away the thin veneer of religiosity, and all you find is vicious, primitive, predatory tribalism.
As well as the various forms of organized premeditated jihad, Muslims are psychologically primed to be opportunist jihadists, spontaneously attacking their prey like packs of hyenas as soon as they sense they have the numerical advantage. Islam legitimizes and encourages predatory attacks on infidels.
This kind of spontaneous, opportunistic jihad is exemplified by the 'Street Jihad' attacks in Europe, and Islamic gang rapes such as that of Lara Logan.
Most religions have a restraining influence on anti-social behavior, but Islam has precisely the opposite effect due to deliberate destruction of the conscience.
Islam incites and excuses crime against infidels. Because of their arrogant sense of supremacy and automatic entitlement, Muslims regard infidels not as fellow human beings, but as walking opportunities for plunder , parasitism and rape.
Islam is not a religion. It is an international criminal conspiracy like the Mafia. Where no conscience or logic exists perpetrators go free and victims get punished. Welcome to cult wisdom.
@human being
Nice story you pulled out of your nether-regions.
But you're missing the point; which is that convicting a rape victim and making her to be the criminal will not only ruin her life by giving her a criminal record.
And unlike your hypothetical "rich-middle class by Maldives standards" people, a girl whose own family raped her has no chance of ever managing to break away from her abusers with a legal job. And yes, when her 'criminal record' prevents her from getting a legal job, her only way will be drugs, despair, prostitution and crime.
I'm not 'reading the future' as you claim. I'm just saying what has happened to Maldives today, because of your flawed judiciary.
You know what's worse?
When victims are prosecuted as criminals, other rape victims will fear for their own safety and will keep silent, further enforcing your myth that 'rape cases don't happen here'.
And that's why you are a rapist by proxy, and deserve an execution by firing squad.
@ Maldivian Man on Fri, 1st Mar 2013 12:51 AM
Well said!
Firing squad or beheading I would suggest as well.
As "human being" explained befor: it is only a short time of pain, better than all those years locked away in prison ...
Read, think and sign:
http://www.amnesty.org.au/action/action/31223/?utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=wallpost&utm_campaign=IAR&utm_content=
this is stupid and this is children abuse she is a kids what in hell give any court the right to to hit her this is children abuse in our country the courts does not hit children for a 15 year old girl to have sex is wrong but what in hell gives this court right to hit her at all house arrest is okay but she is still a kid. yes so punishment this girl that step father has abuse what the hell is wrong with you people. God will punish you for this and I will pray that he does this is wrong very very wrong. someone need to put a stop to this.
A 15-YEAR OLD GIRL IS TOO YOUNG TO GIVE CONSENT — that is the case in most CIVILIZED countries. What an abominable law! Shariah law should be outlawed–it is uncivilized, repugnant, and downright EVIL!
@Ariman reading ur comments n im lyk wtf??? any idea about Islam?? why talk stupid sh*t when u dont KNOW!?
And yes i feel really bad for da girl! If she is to b lashed then Why da heck is da man not being punished also??
It is disgusting to read some of the comments on this board and see so many Muslims DEFENDING the punishment of a girl for having sex. I understand that there is some dispute regarding who she was charged for having sex with, but does it matter?? It is her body and it hurt no one. How is it defensible to have someone flogged for doing something with her own body. Her body is not a source of someone elses morals, religious or not. It is her own to decide what to and what not to do with as she pleases. For someone else to punish her for having sex (pre-marital or not, victim or not) is deplorable and taking ownership of something that isn't theirs to judge or condemn. STAND UP ISLAM!!!! Speak up for atrocities and immoral actions taken in the name of your religion and stop defending this nonsense. You should be standing up against fundemental countries and their abusive use of your religion instead of "defending" it from people who call it immoral in the face of actions like this. What is more important? Acting the apologist against the people who are offended by such atrocities or acting as a moral example to everyone by standing up againt those who would "misinterpret" your religion for such evils?
Come on now islam.... stand up and fight the right people if you don't want to be seen as an immoral religion.
peace