Carlos

Lagrange Rwanda: Politics of change

Universal attitudes towards rape

Throughout the course of time, the act of non-consensual sex, or rape, has been widespread and present in all of human societies, cultures, and civilizations. From being connoted as something negative, to being openly promoted, the attitudes towards committing such an act are as diverse as the societies it is performed in. Following my group research, Ill be briefly introducing three generally employed attitudes of three different countries; Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the United States. Being religious countries, Saudi Arabia and Iran are highly influenced, if not completely driven by Islamic thought. Both countries legal system is based upon what is called Sharia law, created by cumulative doctrines specified in Holy Scriptures such as the Quran. If a man is found guilty of rape, under such a set of laws, he should theoretically be given the death penalty. The problem however arises when the whole judicial process is not only dubious, but threatens to convert the victims themselves into perpetrators, with the punishment sometimes reverting itself unto the accusing victim. Victim blaming, or blaming the victim for being responsible of being raped because she wasnt wearing her Hijab is common throughout the society. One notorious example occurred in September 2004 in Denmark, when the mufti Shahid Mehdi of the Islamic Cultural Center in Copenhagen said on the Danish television program Talk to God that women who venture outside without a hijab are asking for rape. The societies attitude towards rape seems to stem from its attitude towards women, or how more implicitly, Islamist theology portrays women as second-class citizens in comparison to men. This underlying idea, spread throughout the minds of men that function as Judges, police officers, or even witnesses, creates an unbalanced view of justice in many if not most of reported rape cases. The result is a society were rape is made taboo, highly unreported, and poorly condemned.

 The United States, as a heavily contrasted attitude, tries to be as open as possible when it comes to rape, yet is still a long way from eliminating it. As opposed to Iran and Saudi Arabia, the United States has much more recorded cases of rape, and as the official FBI figures suggest, 1/6 of American have experienced attempted, or complete forms of rape. This is mainly due to a justice system that is more favorable to the victims, offering them a better chance of justice than most Islamic countries, where Sharia Law is in place. Although victims are better off in the United States, FBI research suggest that most rapes still go unreported due to shame of the victim, or because at many times, the rapist is a relative or friend. Other high profile rape cases occur in the United States growing penitentiary system, where inmates are often subjected to repeated raping from other inmates. Although rapists are heavily punished by some type of sentence in the United States, very little else is done to prevent rapes from occurring widespread throughout prisons; considering that rape cases are rarely reported in prisons. Although the attitudes towards rape are explicitly different in Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United States, there do seem to share common values that may give insight on the nature of rape cases. It is clear, that although 92% percent of rape victims are women, very little is done to empower them against preventing, or effectively accusing their perpetrators. They remain open to shame, punishment, and stigmatizing in societies that should rather condemn the rapist and not the victim. It is only in contemporary times that people seem to be acting upon this principle and promoting activism in the United States and other parts of the world, encouraging people to adhere to an attitude that empowers women, victims, and all those who oppose rape existing as a silent, undervalued crime.