Rape is a sexual assault or having sex with someone without her/his consent. It is an act of violence. Rape is rape, whether it is done in marriage or outside marriage, it is an act of violence.
Rape is one of the most underreported cases. Most crime statistics, including rape rates are based only on reported cases. they do not include the cases that are left unreported. Although we are now living in 21st century, honor-killing, victim-blaming, forced-marriage, equating rape to adultery or fornication, punishing rape victims with imprisonment or/and lashings and not recognising marital rape as rape still exist in this world today, mostly in Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and other suchlike countries. These countries are often under observations by Humans' Rights Watch.
...and blaming a rape victim for not wearing 'modest' clothes is like blaming victims of robbery for having lots of money and being too rich.
It saddens me that there are some morons who still think that it's women's fault when they are raped. They will point out that the causes of rape are how women dress and behave and the legalizing of gender mixing, and of course, they will brag how low the rape rates in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan etc where women are expected to cover almost all parts of their bodies are and how high the rape rates in advanced countries such as United States of America, United Kingdom, Korea, Sweden etc are. These people actually never give a damn that those statistics that we can easily get are based only on reported cases, the statistics do not include the cases that go unreported. Oh what about incest (or Malays call it sumbang mahram)? What about child rape? The child's fault for not covering in front of his/her father? What about men anal-raping men? The men's fault for not wearing turbans?
In USA, UK, Sweden and other suchlike countries, rape victims can report with no fear because those countries do not punish rape victims. Instead, they punish the rapists. That's why rape rates in those countries are so high whereas in countries like Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Pakistan, rape victims are often blamed for inciting rape, punished, forced to marry their rapists, denied justice for failing to bring four "good" male witnesses of the rape incident and even honour-killed so which rape victims in those countries dare to report for being raped? Who the hell can successfully rape a person in front of good people? This 'four-witnesses' rule is what makes rape rates in Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan etc very "low" and it's the fear to report that makes rape rates in certain countries are very low.
Ever heard of the gang-rape victim from Qatif, Saudi Arabia? She went out with a male companion, the two got kidnapped and the girl got gang-raped by six men. She was actually married to another man. Before the incident, she only knew the stranger guy only on the phone. The guy had threatened her to tell about their relationship to her family if she did not give her photo to him so she gave. One day, she also asked for the guy's photo but the guy would only give if she came out with him in his car. That's when the gang rape happened and when she reported to police, she was sentenced to prison and lashes. How is this fair? I have also heard some Saudi Arabians making excuses "that girl committed adultery with the stranger guy" blablabla.
Go read somewhere about rape in Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan etc and how the rape victims are treated instead of whining "oh look at Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan etc, rape rates are very low." etc.
This is a video, in Malay, of Nik Aziz, the spiritual leader of PAS (Parti Islam Se-Malaysia / Malaysian Islamic Party) giving a speech about the the compulsion of covering the awrat, and in this speech, he said women who do not cover their awrat deserve to be raped and he even supported the rape of such women! I know what he was saying because I understand Malay.
Nik Aziz:
Dah dia buka aurat, dirogol. Padanlah muka dirogol! Dia jual murah-murah. Dia jual murah-murah betis dia, muka dia, paha dia... Rogol lah! Jual murah-murah. ROGOL LAH! Peduli apa?
(In English: She shows her awrat and gets raped. It serves her right! She displays herself. She exposes her legs, her face, her thighs... Just rape her! [She] makes herself look cheap. JUST RAPE HER! Who cares?)
Note: Jual murah-murah literally means "sell cheaply". I try not to translate it too literally. "She" refers to any woman.
For those who do not know what awrat means, awrat (عورة) is an Arabic word word for shame, indecency, intimate part, nakedness. In mainstream Islamic teachings, women's awrat or nakedness in front of unrelated men is everything except the face and hands. So according to this Nik Aziz guy, women who do not cover their arms, hair, necks, legs etc deserve to get raped. Seriously?
Does this PAS party ever given a damn about domestic violence, discrimination against women, forced marriage, incest? Forcing women to wrap themselves from head to toe does not solve rape. Rapists do not give a damn about how the potential victims dress when they want to rape. Telling women not to go outside or to cover almost all parts of their bodies are only teaching how to not be raped instead of how to not rape. Do PAS leaders recognise marital rape as rape? I do not think so. Many PAS supporters are only concerned about how much clothes women should wrap themselves, how much a wife should satisfy her husband's sexual lusts and how awesome polygamy is. They have almost never concerned about basic human's right. Kelantan, the state in Malaysia which is under PAS rule is the most backward state in West Malaysia.
Below are some of the myths vs facts about rape that I would like to show here:
MYTH: Women incite men to rape.
FACT: Research has found that the vast majority of rapes are planned. Rape is the responsibility of the rapist alone. Women, children and men of every age, physical type and demeanor are raped. Opportunity is the most important factor determining when a given rapist will rape.
MYTH: Women "ask for it" by their dress or actions.
FACT: Rapists look for victims they perceive as vulnerable, not women who dress in a particular way. Assuming that women provoke attacks by where they are or the way they dress is victim-blaming. No person, whatever their behaviour, "deserves" to be raped.
MYTH: Most rapes occur when people are out alone at night. If people stay at home, then they will be safer.
FACT: 44% of rapes reported to the Orange County Rape Crisis Center in 1991 occurred in the victim's home.
MYTH: Only young, pretty women are assaulted.
FACT: Survivors range in age from infancy to old age, and their appearance is seldom a consideration. Assailants often choose victims who seem most vulnerable to attack: old persons, children, physically or emotionally disabled persons, substance abusers and street persons. Men are also attacked.
MYTH: Rape is an impulsive, uncontrollable act of sexual gratification. Most rape are spontaneous acts of passion where the assailant cannot control him/herself.
FACT: Rape is a premeditated act of violence, not a spontaneous act of passion. 71% of rapes are planned in advance. 60% of convicted rapists were married or had regular sexual partners at the time of the assault. Men can control their sexual impulses. The vast majority of rapists are motivated by power, anger, and control, not sexual gratification.
MYTH: Women who are drunk are willing to engage in any kind of sexual activity.
FACT: The fact that a woman has been drinking does not imply consent. Alcohol and drugs can render a woman incapable of consent.
MYTH: It is impossible for a husband to sexually assault his wife.
FACT: Regardless of marital or social relationship, if a woman does not consent to sexual activity, she is being sexually assaulted. In fact, 14% of women are victims of rape committed by their husband.
This entry is also a response to this sickening news:
Arab News: Women Invite Rape, Says Indian Leader and you can see a stupid comment made by a person under the nickname Hafsah, which blames the rape victims for getting raped for being around unrelated men and if the women were not with unrelated men, the gang rape would have never taken place. What a stupid victim-blaming comment.What about father raping his daughter? Isn't father a girl's related man? Stop thinking like people who are of third class mentality and low intellectual.
The guy in the photo is protesting against rape. I think it is in India.
Don't be angry with the title of this thread for mentioning PAS and ISMA.
Another old news, for you to think:
The above video is especially for the Malays Muslims who are Arab wannabes. Many Malay Muslims do not take heed or give a damn about something gross like this happening in Saudi Arabia.
Stop this victim-blaming. Let's recognise marital rape as rape. Stop thinking that it's husbands' right to have sex with their wives even without the wives' consent. Rape is an act of violence and most rapists rape to weaken the victims. That's why rape is very widespread during war. There is also news of female prisoners who have been raped, tortured and abused.
Lets be civilized and trash barbarity. No to stone age customs!
