Pakistan: “800 women were victims of ‘honor killings’ — and 2,900 women reported raped — almost eight a day”
14th August 2011
Read it.
Not surprisingly, the problem is framed in terms of “tribal” issues and not any religious ones. But the tribal courts and the societies that depend on them are informed by the letter and spirit of Islamic law, which cannot be discounted in a discussion of the challenges of improving the rights of women in Islamic countries. Qur’an 4:34 validates the idea of violence as a recourse against “disobedient” women. Qur’an 2:282 renders a woman’s testimony as worth half that of a man, and women’s testimony is routinely inadmissible in cases of adultery under Sharia. And Qur’an 24:13, a conveniently timed revelation that took the heat off of Muhammad’s wife Aisha when she was accused of adultery, has led to the nearly impossible requirement of having four witnesses to establish the crime of rape under Sharia.
These concepts, believed to originate from the mouth of Allah, have played a role in forming the consciences of those who operate and seek the judgment of local jirga courts, contributing to the treatment of women as possessions and commodities, the use of violence to “control” or make an example of them, and the under-reporting of crimes against them, including honor killings and rape.
Women who report the crimes face a second wave of assault — one that is often court-ordered.
Your life under Islam. Don’t say you weren’t warned.