Maldives President Urges Patience in Lashing Sentence of Rape Victim
Little drops of water, little grains of sand, make the mighty ocean and the beauteous land . . .
Little drops of water, in the form of expressions of international outrage against the sentence of 100 lashings for a 15 year old girl, impregnated by her stepfather, who bore his still-born babe, and was ordered punished by the court system for immorality. A call to express outrage by boycotting travel to the Maldives seems to have gotten the attention of the government. It appears they will try to find a way to avoid this grueling punishment . . . thanks to the attention being paid.
From the English edition of Haveeru Online:
President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik on Tuesday urged patience from the international community in the case of the 15 year old alleged rape victim who received a flogging after being convicted of adultery in a separate incident.
The conviction had sparked an international outcry and condemnation from rights groups such as Amnesty International. While an online petition condemning the Maldives over the sentencing has received over two million signatures. The petition, started by New York-based campaign group avaaz.org, calls on President Waheed to intervene and has been signed by over two million users.
“We appreciate the international compassion for this young woman and ask for your patience as this case moves through the judicial system,” President Waheed said in a statement.
“Currently the case is being appealed and I have urged the judiciary to resolve this matter as quickly as possible.”
“This case should never have been presented in the courts and we are working to ensure that cases like this are never brought to the courts again.”
In the statement, President Waheed also assured that the young woman remains under the care of the Gender Ministry and is receiving the appropriate physical and psychological counseling at this time.
“As both the President and as a father, I am fully committed to protecting and advancing the rights of women and girls in the Maldives and throughout the world and share your deep concern about this young victim.”
In its attempt to pressure the Maldives government to overturn the sentence, Avaaz had called for tourism to be boycotted.
“Tourism is the big earner for the Maldives elite, including government ministers. Let’s build a million-strong petition to President Waheed this week, then threaten the islands’ reputation through hard-hitting ads in travel magazines and online until he steps in to save her and abolish this outrageous law,” Avaaz said on its website.
In that regard, President noted that the Maldives is a young democracy working to balance religious faith with new democratic values and asked the international community to support as partners as the country works through this challenge.
“A boycott on tourism will only serve as a setback to the economic opportunities and rights we are all striving to uphold for women, girls and the hardworking Maldivian people in general,” Waheed stressed.
The 15 year old girl who gave birth and buried the baby in Shaviyani Atoll Feydhoo had been sentenced to eight months under house arrest and 100 lashes after the Juvenile Court found her guilty of pre marital sex.
Prosecutors have maintained that the 15 year old was charged with adultery over another case which came to light during the investigation of the buried baby.
The baby born last June was found buried in the bath house of the girl’s home. The child delivered out of wedlock was dead at the time of discovery. Charges have been filed against the 15 year old’s mother and step-father over the deliberate murder of the baby.
Expats in Kuwait: A Burden on the State?
From today’s Kuwait Times . . . .
KUWAIT: The government has sent a draft law to the parliament stipulating an increase in fees collected from expatriate residents for using public services in Kuwait, a senior state official said in statements reported yesterday by the local press.
Minister of Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah further indicated that the proposal is currently under review primarily to ensure it was in keeping with the constitution. “The state pays KD6 billion to subsidize public services, including electricity and water, while only KD2 billion of it is the average share of Kuwaitis,” he told a gathering of third constituency women voters at MP Ahmad Al-Mulaifi’s dewaniya on Monday night.
He also termed the remaining KD4 billion, a cost which supposedly the government bears for services used by expatriates, “a burden on the state.” Al-Sabah, who is also the State Minister for Municipality Affairs, added that similar steps have been adopted in the rest of the Gulf Cooperation Council states to increase the state revenue from expatriates. “Unfortunately, Kuwait’s law prohibits the government from increasing the fees unilaterally,” he said, referring to regulations which stipulate that such decisions must be passed by the parliament before becoming effective.
The minister’s statement is the latest turn in the government’s efforts seen targeted at the country’s expatriate community which comprises two thirds of the population, including a Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor announcement to deport 100,000 foreigners annually as part of a ‘demographic balance restoration plan’; the details of which are yet to be announced.
Meanwhile, Undersecretary Assistant for Traffic Affairs in the Interior Ministry, Major General Abdulfattah Al-Ali, announced that 213 expats were deported in the past few days for committing ‘grave’ traffic violations. In this regard, Al-Ali told Al-Rai on Tuesday that deportations only happen in cases where people have a record of repeated violations. “An expatriate who commits the same violation over and over again must be deported in the public interest,” he said, calling a person in this case as “abnormal” and “untreatable.” According to the ministry, the violations warranting deportation include driving without a driver’s license, jumping the red traffic light for a second time, using private vehicles to carry passengers and exceeding speed limits by 40 km. Al-Ali refuted the notion that the recent deportations were connected to the MSAL’s plan mentioned above.
Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Thekra Al-Rashidi had indicated that the annual deportation plan, through which the government hopes to deport a million foreigners in ten years, is chiefly going to target ‘marginal labor forces’ or workers who usually accept menial jobs and often live without valid visas.
Such workers are often the victim of visa traffickers who exploit loopholes in the ministry’s system to release work permits in the name of fake companies or nonexistent job openings, and then sell them to unskilled labor forces looking for a chance to work in the oil-rich Gulf region. The system is based on the kafala (sponsorship of foreign workers) program which is often criticized by international organizations for human right violations recorded in Kuwait and the entire region.
On a related note, Al-Rai reported yesterday that the social affairs and interior ministries are studying the possibility of creating an ‘amnesty period’ during the summer to allow illegal residents to leave Kuwait or obtain a new visa without paying the cumulative fines.
Anonymous sources were quoted in the report as saying that the project depends on the two ministries’ ability to “plug some loopholes” which could make violators irresponsive to it. “For example, we cannot expect Bangladeshi nationals staying illegally in Kuwait to leave when they know that they will be banned by law in this case from ever returning to Kuwait,” one source explained. “There are violators who become stuck in Kuwait due to circumstances in their home countries combined with regulations that prevent them from issuing a residency in Kuwait.
Legal obstacles in similar cases need to be removed before an amnesty period is announced,” the source added.
86 Expats Deported; “Kuwait Traffic Laws Will Be Strictly Implemented”
This is a very interesting article from the April 27th Kuwait Times; after stating all the things that will happen to expats violating traffic rules – like running a red light – Lt Gen Al Ali adds that “of course” they will deal strictly with Kuwaits when their violations might endanger the safety of people on the roads. Hmm. When Qatar implemented a very strict traffic code with high fines for violations, they quickly discovered that the majority of the violations were committed by Qataris, whose families were highly indignant that they would be expected to pay fines – high fines.
Traffic laws are only effective when equally applied across the board. I congratulate the Kuwaiti police for making the decision to implement this new law equally, against all traffic violators, native and expat alike.
KUWAIT: The Assistant Undersecretary for Traffic Affairs Lt Gen Abdul Fattah Al-Ali said 86 expats have been deported during the past few days, emphasizing that he is implementing the instructions of the First Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Hmoud, and the Undersecretary Gen Ghazi Al-Omar. He said that traffic department will not allow any kind of violation of the country’s law.
The traffic department held an extended traffic campaign in Shuwaikh industrial area, with the participation of 72 traffic patrols and 17 cranes. The campaign resulted in more than 300 citations, and the detention of about 70 vehicles, . Lt Gen Al Ali also announced some new procedures to be taken besides activating the existing traffic law articles, to overcome all mistakes that used to happen before.
Al-Ali said: “We have received green light from the minister of interior and undersecretary to take strict actions against expatriates who do not abide by traffic rules, especially those who jump red traffic light and drive without driving license and over speed. Those instructions have been passed to all patrols, and was given the blessings of first deputy prime minister and minister of interior, which calls for immediate deportation of any expatriate who drives without license.
Also all expatriates who jump red signal or overspeed will be deported. Of course, we will also take strict actions against citizens who commit such traffic violations as those violations endanger the lives of other people. Therefore, article 33 of traffic law will be strictly implemented, and the vehicle of the citizen who breaks the law will be impounded for three months.”
Al Ali said that new procedures will be taken against owners of the cars that are taken into custody, and they will have to pay all fines in addition o detention charges and cost of transporting the vehicle to the dumping ground. He added that the Ministry of Interior will take strict actions against reckless driving in Wafra, Subhan and Fahaheel.
He added in his report to press reporters that once the law completely implemented,there will be safety and security on the road and the number of road accidents which costs the state billions of dinars annually will come down. Ministry of Interior started communicating with Ministry of Commerce to cancel the license of any garage found repairing cars without repair permit from the local police station.
By Hanan Al-Saadoun, Staff Writer
KUWAIT: MoI assistant undersecretary for traffic affairs, Maj General Abdul Fattajh Al-Ali said that citizens and bedoons would be detained for committing severe traffic violation whereas expats would be deported for doing the same. “Law must be applied without exceptions”, he said noting that drivers committing severe traffic violations such as driving through red lights, speeding, driving without holding a driver’s license or vehicle registration or illegal use of vehicle as a taxi would be immediately detained and a special record would be made of their ‘traffic records’ to check if they had committed the same violations earlier. —Al-Rai
Top MOI officials to retire in reshuffle
KUWAIT: Two top Interior Ministry officers are poised to retire by the end of the month in a prelude to major reshuffles planned by First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Ahmad Al-Hmoud Al-Sabah. This was published by Al-Rai on Thursday quoting “reliable sources” who indicated that Minister Al-Hmoud “did not request extending the service for Major General Mustafa Al- Zaabi and Major General Khalil Al-Shamali”, who occupy the posts of Assistant Undersecretary for Traffic Affairs and Assistant Undersecretary for Correctional Institutions Affairs respectively. The reshuffle which starts sometime this month is set to cover directors and deputy directors and will fill the vacuum left by the two assistant undersecretaries. In this regard, the sources who spoke on condition of anonymity indicated that Assistant Undersecretary for General Security Affairs, Major General Mahmoud Al-Dousary, is expected to be shifted to the traffic affairs department “in order to utilize his long experience in the field which can prove helpful in carrying out strategic plan to end the state’s traffic problem”. The same sources further indicated that the ministry plans to launch a “comprehensive study” to address the problem of the shortage of staff through measures that will include “simplifying enrollment conditions at the Saad Al-Abdullah Police Academy”. — Al-Rai
57 Meth Producers Arrested in Escambia County
This boggles my mind – 57 people producing meth in a city with a population of around 50K. These people are driving cars, shopping in grocery stores, all mildly deranged, at best, by the drug they produce. I am delighted they have been arrested and I am appalled to know they were on the streets:
Fifty-seven people allegedly involved in two major meth organizations in Escambia County were arrested this week, federal and state authorities said.
The results of the mass arrests, the result of a seven-month investigation, were announced during a news conference Friday afternoon.
Seventy-six people on various meth-related charges were sought, Sheriff David Morgan said, and more arrests may be made.
Those arrested, many of whom were rounded up by 60 state and federal law enforcement agents that went out Thursday morning, were targeted as part of two major meth cooking and distribution networks located in north Escambia County, sheriff’s narcotics Investigator Kenneth Tolbirt said.
One is called “The Village Group,” is based at Lakeview and Forrest avenues in Cantonment, while “The Ayers Group” is based on Ayers Street in Molino, Tolbirt said.
The organizations had roles ranging from cooks to dealers. Many of those arrested in the past two days work as “smurfs,” and go purchase pseudoephedrine, a medication used to make meth, from drug stores, authorities said.
The bust comes in the wake of 12 people being indicted in federal court on Tuesday for conspiracy to possess and distribute pseudoephedrine.
Morgan refused to say what was confiscated in Thursday’s bust, citing the ongoing need to prosecute the cases.
State Attorney Bill Eddins said he has assigned two assistant state attorneys to oversee the prosecution of the cases.
Bravo to the Escambia County Sherrif’s office for the careful, painstaking work it takes to craft an operation like this and to execute it.
You Can Run, But You Can’t Hide . . .
Police Hunt Second Boston Marathon Suspect, First Suspect Dead
A search is underway in Watertown for the second Boston Marathon suspect, following the fatal shooting of a MIT campus police officer and a chaotic night starting in Cambridge.
Officials confirmed early Friday morning that they are searching for the second Boston Marathon bombing suspect in Watertown following a chaotic night that left the first suspect dead.
The Associated Press is reporting the surviving Boston bomb suspect is identified as Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19, of Cambridge.
“We believe this man to be a terrorist,” Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said at a post-4 a.m. press conference about the at large suspect. “We believe this to be a man who’s come here to kill people. We need to get him in custody.
All MBTA service has been suspended on Friday morning and law enforcement officials are asking residents of Watertown, Newton, Waltham, Belmont, Cambridge and the Allston-Brighton neighborhoods of Boston to stay indoors and for businesses to not open today. Also, no vehicle traffic will be allowed in or out of Watertown until further notice.
The suspect is considered armed and dangerous.
A robbery at a Cambridge 7-11 Thursday night was followed by the fatal shooting of a MIT campus police officer, then a carjacking by the suspects, which turned into a shootout in Watertown on early Friday morning, with one suspect pronounced dead at a hospital after the shootout and the other at large.
Worst Drivers in the World: Traffic Fatalities by Country
Driving in the Middle East is a whole other world, a world of chaos until you realize that the rules are different, no matter what the published rules are. To drive in Qatar, I started at 0430 on a Friday morning, when there was little or no traffic (things have changed) and would drive until traffic began to thicken. Eventually, I knew the city and gained confidence that I could drive without getting killed. In Kuwait, for months, I would only drive to relatively nearby shopping areas, or drive only on back roads carefully plotted on the map during low traffic hours. After a while, you begin to get a sense of things, and the sensation of imminent death lessens.
Adventures in Qatar: a radiator dropping off a truck in front of me, being hit on purpose by a man who didn’t like women driving, being pushed into a round about by a Hummer, being nearly assaulted by two young Qataris who believed we had insulted them by being in the lane where they wanted to be, watching men drive up the wrong side of the ring roads because they were too important to wait in line, later standing and laughing at their crashed cars – Daddy would buy them another. It sounds crazy, but you get used to it.
Kuwait was a whole different ball game, controlled chaos at high speeds. Adventures in Kuwait: the sleeping elderly man driving in the lane next to me who almost hit me, watching drivers drive through red lights as if they were green, sparks off the fenders of SUVs on Highway 30 as people wove quickly in and out of traffic, the dramatic crashed and burned out cars on the sides of the highways, the car impaled on a palm tree – 10 feet above the road. Kuwait was so surreal that I couldn’t even begin to imagine how some of the accidents happened; I learned to be a very prayerful driver.
So out of idle curiosity, today I looked up highest rate of traffic fatalities per country, and found this on Wikipedia. So here’s a surprise . . . Kuwait’s fatalities statistic is roughly equal to that of the United States. Qatar’s is significantly higher, and many countries are even double or triple Kuwaits fatality rate. I’m having trouble wrapping my mind around this.
List of countries Fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants
World 20.8
Afghanistan 39.0
Albania 13.9
Angola 37.7
Argentina 13.7
Armenia 13.9
Australia 5.71
Austria 8.2
Azerbaijan 13.0
Bahamas 14.5
Bahrain 12.1
Bangladesh 12.6
Barbados 12.2
Belarus 10.9
Belgium 10.1
Belize 15.6
Benin 31.2 1
Bhutan 14.4
Bolivia 16.7
Bosnia and Herzegovina 10.9
Botswana 33.8
Brazil 19.9
British Virgin Islands 21.7
Brunei Darussalam 13.8
Bulgaria 8.8
Burkina Faso 31.1
Burundi 23.4
Cambodia 12.1
Cameroon 28.1
Canada 9.2
Cape Verde 25.1
Central African Republic 32.2
Chad 34.3
Chile 13.7
China 5.1
Colombia 11.7
Comoros 30.3
Republic of the Congo 28.8
Cook Islands 45.0
Costa Rica 15.4
Croatia 9.1
Cuba 8.6
Cyprus 10.4
Czech Republic 10.4
Denmark 3.1
Dominican Republic 17.3
Ecuador 11.7
Egypt 42.0
El Salvador 12.6
Eritrea 48.4
Estonia 7.5
Ethiopia 35.0
Fiji 7.0
Finland 6.5
France 5.5
The Gambia 36.6
Georgia 16.8
Germany 4.5
Ghana 9.32
Greece 14.4
Guatemala 14.7
Guinea-Bissau 34.4
Guyana 19.9
Honduras 13.5
Hungary 9.9
Iceland 3.8
India 11.1
Indonesia 16.2
Iran 35.8
Iraq 38.1
Republic of Ireland 3.51
Israel 3.7
Italy 8.7
Jamaica 12.3
Japan 3.85
Jordan 34.2
Kazakhstan 30.6
Kenya 34.4
Kiribati 7.4
Republic of Korea 11.3
Kuwait 16.9
Kyrgyzstan 22.8
Laos 18.3
Latvia 8.7
Lebanon 28.5
Lesotho 26.7
Liberia 32.9
Libya 40.5
Lithuania 14.8
Luxembourg 9.0
Madagascar 33.7
Malawi 26.0
Malaysia 24.1
Maldives 18.3
Mali 32.1
Malta 3.4
Marshall Islands 7.4
Mauritania 35.5
Mauritius 11.1
Mexico 20.7
Federated States of Micronesia 14.4
Mongolia 14.5
Montenegro 14.6
Morocco 28.3
Mozambique 7.0
Myanmar 23.4
Namibia 28.6
Nauru 9.9
Nepal 15.1
Netherlands 3.9
New Zealand 8.6
Nicaragua 14.2
Niger 37.7
Nigeria 32.3
Norway 5.4
Oman 21.3
Pakistan 25.3
Palau 14.8
Palestinian territories 5.6
Panama 12.7
Papua New Guinea 14.2
Paraguay 19.7
Peru 21.5
Philippines 20.0
Poland 10.7
Portugal 7.9
Puerto Rico 12.8
Qatar 23.7
Republic of Macedonia 6.9
Republic of Moldova 15.1
Romania 9.4
Russia 19.5
Rwanda 31.6
Saint Lucia 17.6
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 6.6
Samoa 12.8
San Marino 0
Sao Tome and Principe 33.0
Saudi Arabia 29.0
Senegal 32.5
Serbia 9.8
Seychelles 18.5
Sierra Leone 28.3
Singapore 4.8
Slovakia 7.1
Slovenia 10.4
Solomon Islands 16.9
South Africa 33.2
Spain 6.9
Sri Lanka 13.5
Sudan 34.7
Suriname 15.8
Swaziland 26.3
Sweden 2.9
Switzerland 4.7
Syrian Arab Republic 32.9
Tajikistan 14.1
Thailand 19.6
Timor-Leste 16.1
Togo 28.1
Tonga 7.0
Trinidad and Tobago 15.5
Tunisia 34.5
Turkey 13.4
Turkmenistan 18.6
Tuvalu 9.5
Uganda 24.7
Ukraine 11.2
United Arab Emirates 37.1
United Kingdom 3.59
United Republic of Tanzania 34.3
United States of America 12.3
Uruguay 12.8
Uzbekistan 9.7
Vanuatu 18.6
Venezuela 21.8
Vietnam 16.1
Yemen 29.3
Zambia 25.6
Zimbabwe 27.5
Like all statistics, I think some are honest, and some need to be taken with a grain of salt. I found reading through them fascinating. You can get more information, accidents per thousand cars, total accidents, etc.
This is Your Boston Marathon First Victim – SHAME
This is on AOL News – information on the first victim from the first blast in the Boston Marathon. This is your victim, bomber, an eight year old boy. His mother is also hospitalized. Hang your head in shame.
Martin Richard was standing near the finish line, waiting for his father to complete the grueling Boston Marathon on Monday, when an explosion took his life.
He was 8 years old and in the third grade.
Neighbor Jane Sherman told WCVB that Martin was a typical little boy, who loved to ride his bike and play baseball.
Martin’s mother, Denise, was hospitalized with “grievous injuries,” The Times of London reported. She reportedly underwent surgery late Monday for an injury to her brain.
His 6-year-old sister, a first grader whose name was not made public, lost her leg in the blast, WHDH reported.
The status of his father, William, has not been released. A third child was reportedly unharmed in the explosion.
Boston Marathon Winners, lost in the aftermath of the explosions:
This is the face of America – welcoming all nations and all races to compete in the Boston Marathon. The winners were Ethiopian and Kenyan, and we celebrate their victories, year after year. Their nationality doesn’t concern us, their race is irrelevant, their politics are their own – they are all welcome to race, runners from all nations.
BOSTON — The Kenyans finally face a challenge to their dominance of the Boston Marathon, and it’s from their East African neighbors.
Ethiopia’s Lelisa Desisa took the title in the 117th edition of the world’s oldest marathon on Monday, winning a three-way sprint down Boylston Street to finish in 2 hours, 10 minutes, 22 seconds and snap a string of three consecutive Kenyan victories.
“Here we have a relative newcomer,” said Ethiopia’s Gebregziabher Gebremariam, who finished third. “Everything changes.”
In just his second race at the 26.2-mile distance, Desisa finished 5 seconds ahead of Kenya’s Micah Kogo to earn $150,000 and the traditional olive wreath. American Jason Hartmann finished fourth for the second year in a row.
“It was more of a tactical race, the Ethiopian versus the Kenyans. That fight played out very well,” defending champion Wesley Korir, a Kenyan citizen and U.S. resident, said after finishing fifth.
Kuwait Media Legislation Harms Standing in Transparency?
When I lived in Kuwait, many reporters self-censored, but there was still a lively – and, in relative terms, relative to the rest of the Gulf, free press. The Kuwait Legislature is going loony tunes with this proposed legislation. This, from the Kuwait Times:
Media draft law under fire for stiff penalties
KUWAIT: Former opposition MPs, writers, journalists and activists have strongly lashed out at a new media draft law that stipulates unprecedented hefty penalties against violators. The new draft law was approved earlier this week by the Cabinet but must pass the National Assembly to be effective. The 99-article draft law stipulates a 10 year sentence for insulting the Almighty, prophets, companions, relatives and wives of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). It also stipulates a fine of between KD 50,000 and KD 300,000 for those convicted of insulting the Amir.
The draft law gives the Information Ministry the right to shut down with an administrative decision any publication for up to three years even without a court ruling, a key article in the current law. Former liberal opposition MP Abdulrahman Al-Anjari described the draft legislation as a “stigma” for the government which is “suffering from psychological disorders”. Former MP Obaid Al-Wasmi described it as the “capital punishment law” while former MP Jamaan Al-Harbash said it belongs to the old ages and will send too many people to jail.
Meanwhile, the criminal court yesterday issued a two-year jail term against opposition tweeter Hijab Al-Hajeri for writing tweets deemed offensive to HH the Amir in yet another verdict targeting activists. But the court asked the convict to pay a bail of KD 100 to suspend the implementation of the imprisonment until the appeals court issues its verdict on the case. Like several opposition tweeters, Hajeri was charged of insulting the Amir and undermining his status. Several tweeters and former opposition MPs have been handed several years in prison over the same charge and some of them have been sent to jail.
In another case, the criminal court postponed the case of Al-Youm Television to May 8. Two announcers for the pro-opposition station, its chairman and a director are facing charges of violating the law by reading a statement issued by the opposition several weeks ago. Another court also set May 1 as the date to issue its verdict on opposition tweeter Abdulaziz Al-Mutairi on charges of insulting the Amir.
In a related development, the public prosecution released well-known Islamist thinker and university professor Abdullah Al-Nafisi on a KD 5,000 bail after interrogating him on accusations of threatening national unity. Nafisi had reportedly undermined Shiites at a diwaniya meeting about two weeks ago which was held to highlight the dangers Iran was posing against the Gulf states including Kuwait. During the speech, Nafisi was cited as saying that some of the 17 Shiite MPs in the Assembly have links with Iran and claimed that one of them had taken part in a suicide car bombing on the life of the late former Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah in May 1985. He also claimed that another MP was involved in the hijacking of a Kuwaiti passenger plane in 1988 that was blamed on Shiite militias.
Meanwhile, Islamist MP Hamed Al-Dossari called yesterday on the ministries of interior and foreign affairs to follow the footsteps of Bahrain and treat the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation. He also charged that Iran has ambitions in the Gulf and is inciting discord in Bahrain and the rest of the Gulf Arab states.
By B Izzak, Staff Writer
It’s Your Fault if You Assume You Are Safe: Indian Officials
Horrifying. Disgusting. At the very least, if you are an official and tourists are gang raped in your area, keep your mouth shut. If you must say something, tell the visitors how sorry you are this happened to them. Never, never, never suggest that they should have ASKED if they were safe, NEVER blame the victim for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You just look really, really ignorant.
These crimes will keep happening as long as there is such a preference for male children that there are not enough mates for the males once they mature. They will keep happening as long as men are not taught, as children, that women are to be equally respected.
Swiss Gang Rape Victim, Husband Partially To Blame For Attack, Indian Officials Suggest
The Huffington Post | By Cavan Sieczkowski
Posted: 03/18/2013 12:13 pm EDT
Officials in India suggested that a Swiss tourist and her husband are partially to blame for an alleged attack and gang rape in a remote wooded area in Madhya Pradesh last week. They said the couple did not inquire about the safety of the region.
On Friday, a Swiss woman and her husband pitched a tent in a forest in Madhya Pradesh while on a three-month cycling excursion, according to the Associated Press. Around 9:30 p.m. a group of men attacked the couple, beat up the husband, tied him to a tree, gang raped the wife and robbed the pair, police said.
During a press conference on Sunday, police spokesperson Avnesh Kumar Budholiya suggested the tourists are partially to blame for the assault because they chose to travel that area without speaking to local police, the Independent reports.
“No one stops there,” Budholiya said. “Why did they choose that place? They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. They would have passed a police station on the way to the area they camped. They should have stopped and asked about places to sleep.”
Another official also appeared to place blame on the victim and her husband.
“The rape of the Swiss national is unfortunate but foreign travelers should inform the police about their movement so they can be provided with adequate protection,” said Umashankar Gupta, the Home Minister of Madhya Pradesh, according to The Times. “They often don’t follow the state’s rules.”
Madhya Pradesh reportedly has one of the highest rates of crimes against women in the country, a fact the Swiss tourists were unaware of, according to the Times of India.
“They apparently lost track and took a wrong turn and decided to halt for the night by the side of a village brook little realizing that the district with 85:100 men to women ratio is not the safest place for women,” a senior official from the region told the newspaper.
Six men have been arrested in connection with the most recent reported gang rape, CNN reports. The victim, who was hospitalized after the attack, claims four of the men raped her. The other two reportedly robbed her and her husband. All six appeared in court Monday.
The most recent attack comes just three months after a 23-year-old woman was gang raped and beaten on a public bus by five men in New Delhi. The defense lawyer for three of the accused placed some of the blame on the now-deceased victim, saying a “respected lady” does not get raped.
Blaming a female victim of a sex crime is common in India because of a woman’s role in society, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
“This is the mentality which most Indian men are suffering from unfortunately,” Ranjana Kumari, director for the New Delhi-based Centre for Social Research, told the newspaper. “That is the mindset that has been perpetrating this crime because they justify it indirectly, you asked for it so it is your responsibility.”
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