Iran rape victim bound for gallows unless she changes story

Rape victim Reyhaneh Jabbari has been sentenced to death in Iran  Photo: REUTERS

The story comes from The Telegraph.

Iran rape victim bound for gallows unless she changes story


An Iranian rape victim has been offered the option of avoiding the gallows if she complies with terms for forgiveness set by the son of the predator she murdered.

Morteza Abdolali Sarbandi, an Iranian intelligence agent, was killed by Reyhaneh Jabbari after she was lured to flat to undertake interior design work but sexually abused.

Jabbari pleaded self defence but was sentenced to hang for Sarbandi's death. The interior designer's lawyer has warned the sentence could be carried out within weeks.

Iran's Islamic based legal system gives the family of victims the right to grant clemency in capital punishment sentences but Sarbandi's son, Jalal has demanded that Jabbari must change her version of events if she hopes to live.

"Only when her true intentions are exposed and she tells the truth about her accomplice and what really went down will we be prepared to grant mercy," he said.



The son said Jabbari, 26, had conceded a man was present in the apartment where his father was stabbed to death "but she refuses to reveal his identity".

His comments come just days after a young Iranian man convicted of murder escaped a hangman's noose in Iran when his victim's mother intervened, slapping him in the face and declaring forgiveness.

The UN says that more than 170 people have been executed in Iran since the beginning of 2014.

Jabbari's case has triggered domestic and international condemnation.

Iranian actors and other prominent figures have launched an appeal against her execution.

The United Nations and several international rights groups say Jabbari's confession was obtained under intense pressure and threats from Iranian prosecutors.

Ahmed Shaheed, the UN's human rights rapporteur on Iran, said on Monday that her trial had been deeply flawed and apparently acted in self-defence.

"The Iranian authorities should review her case and refer it back to court for a re-trial, ensuring the defendant's right to due process which is guaranteed under both Iranian law and international law," said Shaheed.

He quoted "reliable sources" as saying that the victim, Sarbandi, had offered to hire Jabbari to redesign his office and took her to an apartment where he sexually abused her.

But Jalal Sarbandi insists that his father's murder was premeditated, adding that Jabbari confessed to having bought a knife two days earlier.

"She (also) sent a text message to her boyfriend saying she would kill him," he said.

But Shaheed said that Jabbari only stabbed Sarbandi in the shoulder and had called for an ambulance before fleeing the scene.

Pakistani Girl Gang-Raped at Gunpoint, Sets Herself On Fire

 Amina Bibi and her mother after she burned herself outside the police station.

If you ever wanted a snapshot of the perfect treatment of women in the eyes of the prophet Mohammed, just consider the case of Amina Bibi.  She could be Mo's poster girl.

The story comes from The Clarion Project.

Pakistan: Girl Gang Raped at Gunpoint Self-Immolates


A 17 year old has died in Pakistan from burns suffered after she self-immolated in front of the police station that had released her rapists.


17 year old Amina Bibi set herself on fire outside a police station in Muzzaffargarh, in the Punjab region of Pakistan. She did so after being kidnapped at gunpoint and gang raped by 5 men. The police initially investigated, but later released the suspects without charging them.

She was kidnapped by five armed men while she was walking home from college on January 5. Her brother, Ghulam Shabir, who was with her at the time of the kidnapping, told Reuter, "she was already depressed after going through the trauma, but after the release of the accused, she lost all hope of getting justice and set herself on fire."

Rape and other forms of gender violence are very common in Pakistan. Polygamy, wife-beating, and marital rape are all endemic. Last week the Council of Islamic Ideology, which advises the government on how to make sure that laws comply with Sharia, issued a ruling that laws preventing child marriage are un-islamic. It also called for polygamy to be made possible without requiring the consent of existing wives.

Accurate statistics are hard to obtain, because of the culture of silence that surrounds the issue. Police corruption also plays a role, it is difficult to bring cases to court, and prove guilt. The pervasive honor culture also means that women who are raped are often shamed and treated as sullied after they are raped. They are sometimes killed due to the perceived dishonor that their rape has brought upon their families.

However, there are efforts to combat the problem. Police spokesman Chaudry Asghar said "We have suspended the investigation officer, Rana Zulfiqar, and placed him in detention."

The case is being re-opened and the Supreme Court of Pakistan has demanded an explanation. They have ordered both the provincial police chief and the district police chief to appear before the Supreme Court to explain themselves.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan made a statement saying "Amina's sacrifice has exposed the ordeals that rape victims in the country face when they try to bring their tormentors to justice" They have demanded that the government take steps to combat Pakistan's rape problem.

Iraqi Cabinet OKs Law Allowing Child Marriage, Marital Rape

 On International Women's Day, Iraq men and women took to the streets to protest proposed changes to the personal status law which would institute sharia law in areas of marriage, divorce and child custody. (Photo: © Reuters)


From The Clarion Project.

Iraqi Cabinet OKs Law Allowing Child Marriage, Marital Rape


The new legislation, which institutes sharia law in family matters, will be sent to the legislature for approval.


Women in Iraq took to the streets on International Women’s Day to protest the recent decision by the cabinet to approve draft legislation to institute sharia law in Iraq based on Shiite jurisprudence.

The legislation would change Iraq’s current personal status law, which has been called the most progressive in the Muslim-majority Middle East countries. The current laws uphold women’s rights in the areas of marriage, child custody and inheritance.

The new legislation would permit marriage for girls as young as nine-years old. In the case of divorce, custody of any child over the age of two would automatically be given to the father. In addition, the new legislation allows marital rape, giving the man the right to sexual intercourse with his wife whenever he chooses. Overall, all marriages, divorces and inheritance cases would be legislated according to the Ja’afi interpretation of shariah law and administered by Shiite clergy members

Protesters took to the streets, shouting, "On this day of women, women of Iraq are in mourning."

Hanaa Eduar, a prominent Iraqi human rights activist, said, "We believe that this is a crime against humanity. It would deprive a girl of her right to live a normal childhood."

The bill "risks constitutionally protected rights for women and international commitment," wrote Nickolay Mladenov, the UN's representative to Iraq, on Twitter.

Moderate forces in Iraqi have been embroiled in a fight against Islamists since similar legislation was proposed in 2003.

According to Hussein al-Mura'abi, a legislator and leader of the Islamist Fadila party who is pushing the legislation forward, "This is the core of the freedom. Based on the Iraqi constitution, each component of the Iraqi people has the right to regulate its personal status in line with the instructions of its religion and doctrine."

Ja’afi Law follows the rulings of the sixth Shi'ite imam Ja'afar al-Sadiq, who instituted his own school of Islamic jurisprudence.

Mohammed's Bitches....87% of Bangladesh's Women Are Victims of Domestic Violence

I've said it before...when a Muslim woman gives birth and looks down to see that she has birthed a little girl, she must break down in tears over what life holds for that little one.

The story comes from Asia News via The Religion of Peace.

In Bangladesh, 87 per cent of women victims of domestic violence


Dhaka (AsiaNews) - About 87 per cent of Bangladeshi married women are abused by their husband, this according to a nation-wide study conducted by the government that involved a sample of 12,600 women. Only 8 per cent of respondents said that they were never abused by their partner.

Titled Violence against Women Survey 2011, the research was conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund. The picture it paints is alarming.

The survey found that domestic violence is present in most Bangladeshi households. Last year, 77 per cent of respondents admitted that they had been abused. Of these, 50 per cent had sustained serious injuries, but one in three women refused to go to hospital for fear of retaliation by the husband. Although not as prevalent, the problem also affects Catholic women.

Lata Gomes (not her real name for security reasons) told AsiaNews that "husbands consider us weak, and therefore believe that they have the right to dominate us, even beating us. I am a university graduate and I take care of our two children. But my husband does not listen to me, and if I do not do what he says, he beats me."

Overall though, violence is correlated to illiteracy and low levels of education among women, she explained.

According to human rights organisation Bangladesh Mahila Parishad (BMP), 5,616 cases of violence against women were recorded in 2012, mostly rapes (904), followed by murders (900), stalking and death as a result of stalking (662); dowry-related murders (558), and suicide (435).

So, How Much of a Woman's Face and Hair Should Be Seen? Well, For Muslims It Depends On Where They Live

An interesting survey of Muslims in a number of different islamic countries shows a wide array of what is acceptable and desired as the proper cover of a woman's face and head.

I know...it's the year 2014 and we're actually talking about this.

The story comes from The Telegraph.

Muslim attitudes to women's headwear revealed


A survey of how women should dress in the Muslim world has found that most women would prefer that a woman completely cover her hair but not necessarily her face.

Only in Turkey and Lebanon, the most secular countries in the region, do more than one-in-four think it is appropriate for a woman to not cover her head at all in public.

Research by the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research has been put into a handy graphic and analysed by the Pew Research Centre.

The university surveyed attitudes in seven major Muslim-majority countries: Tunisia, Turkey, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Pakistan and Egypt.

The degree to which women cover their hair in public is of course a major issue across the region. Answers suggested that the Arab spring has done little to alter attitudes.

Respondents were shown six cards with various types of head cover, ranging from the fully covering burka to none at all.

The most conservative responses were displayed in Saudi Arabia. Sixty two per cent of respondents there said that women should wear the niqab, the headdress that allows over a narrow slit over the eyes. In Iraq and Pakistan, 32 per cent and 31 per cent of respondents respectively judged the cloaklike hijab (3rd from the left in the graphic), which reveals the full face, to be most appropriate.

The most popular was the more designed hijab (4th from the left), which was approved by a majority in Tunisia and Egypt, and a large minority in Turkey and Iraq. The research did not reveal the gender of respondents.

It also asked if women should be allowed to choose their own clothing.