It sounds an awful lot like the Qatif Girl story, except this time the girl has no supportive husband, no courageous lawyer, and the gang rape results in a pregnancy. The District Court in Jeddah sentenced her to a year in jail and 100 lashes.
Outrageous.
Saudi Jeans 
saudi gazette’s site is poorly designed, no date info except a part of the url telling me that it’s from Feb 2009 … it’s been 8 months. So what happened to her now?
Yes, the story goes back to February but I don’t think this fact makes it irrelevant or unimportant. I, too, would like to know what happened to her.
I was just saying how I miss jeddah …geez I’m speechless and very saddened for the poor girl.
I wish I can help in any way :(
And here’s another proof that KSA is a heavenly kingdom for women!
The problem is, if you converse with the majority of mentalities here, they would say: “she must have done something to deserve this” but you’d never hear them condemning the rapists. Those poor souls simply couldn’t resist the (temptress) or (whore)
In the end, when it comes to rights, Men know best and women know nothing
But when it comes to punishments, women should’ve known what’s best, and men know nothing
This case reminds me of a story someone who works in the holy mosque of Makkah told me. A woman went there seeking help after some guy violated her. And did she find sympathy? No.
They looked at her accusingly and old her to go to the police, file a complaint, and they would inform her dad.
she immediately passed out upon hearing them mention her father.
I would say she’s most probably dead by now…killed to be more specific, or sentenced to eternal imprisonment
Damn! I’m feeling seriously depressed again
Is there anywhere we can find out more about this? The details seem sketchy …
in fact the pres sed nothing abut the rapists , they will be killed by sword if they convict it call “Hirraba crime”
and the ruling in sharia in that crime is the most tougher -killed or hod x to death or cut the right hand and the lift leg or send out side of his home town forever – it mentioned in holy Quran .
and in the anther hand the victim comet three crime’s by her self 1.having i relation with a stranger . 2. riding with him on her own well 3. having a sexual relition with hem before the rap > and she only ruled on the third crime because it’s the biggest > and she must be responsible abut her Behaviors
The keyword you seem to have missed is “forced.”
outrageous indeed.. hat off to you for your spine and courage..
Hey Ahmed,
If you feel so bad about this girl why don’t ya get a lawyer for her…
Well i wish this girl a better life, but she is under the whip for trying to abort the child and abortion is a crime no matter what. I do feel sorry for her as well.
why don’t ya compare this case with the case where two saudi cops were beheaded for raping an expat women. Check this: http://news.oneindia.in/2009/02/21/two-saudi-police-beheaded-for-rape.html
All you do is just rant, all the best rambling… :)
I believe abortion for rape is allowed.
Abortion for rape/incest is illegal in Saudi Arabia though legal in many other Muslim countries.
I did a multilingual search on this news item from February 2009 and the only information cites the Saudi Gazette article with no updates.
The punishments for the men are not listed, and there seems to be confusion between the English terms fornication and adultery for the respective Islamic crimes.
While it is possible she got in a car voluntarily, it is also possible that the “voluntariness” was compromised eg seeking a cab, acutely ill no other transpost, forced into the car. Her own “confessions” in this matter are hardly reliable.
On another blog someone pointed out that she may be lying to protect herself (Western style) with the accusation of rape. I would add that she might have had consensual sex, become pregnant, and then was left to her own devices by the impregnator.
I am surprised she would go to a government hospital, a Royal, armed forces one in Riyadh no less, for an abortion that is illegal in Saudi even for a rape victim, and as a single woman.
Perhaps the article is incomplete on this as well, and she saught help for the complications of an alternative attempt, which is the most common way that women wishing to terminate their pregnancy in countries where abortion is illegal find themselves in a hospital with a legal obligation to report the attempted abortion/unwed pregnancy etc.
The article is clearly lacking in information, and yet one can still disagree with a number of legal issues:
1) punishing rape victims
2) narrow interpretation of abortion rights even within Islam
3) distorted sense of “voluntariness”
4) use of lashes as a punishment
Hopefully if nursing is respected as a legitimate delay of corporal punishment there is still time to help this woman, who has already delivered her child. Hopefully she and her family can find it in their hearts to love this innocent child and that the child can love him/herself even knowing the story of conception, attempted termination, and imprisonment and lashings for a single mother, whose pregnancy in itself is proof of fornication.
This is one of the reasons why when push comes to shove I believe that men should have little to say about abortion rights. Unless they live in an area that protects women legally and has easy access to DNA it is too easy for them not to be identified as having participated in the pregnancy, whereas for a woman the pregnancy is the “confession” of sexual activity.
Which reminds me that in Saudi law confession is given more weight that elsewhere. The problems with the accuracy, reliability, voluntariness, validity etc of confessions seem less explored by certain judges who also have freer rein with interpretation of the law than in some other places.
I should probably clarify my comments about abortion:
“2) narrow interpretation of abortion rights even within Islam”
Abortion is considered undesirable in Islam, but is permitted to save the life of the mother, as Islam, unlike Christianity, clearly favours preserving the mother’s life over the fetus’ life, as the mother is the source of future life.
Within Islam the concept of ensoulment (Allah’s breath breathing the soul into the fetus) is important for other aspects of the issue of abortion. Most believe ensoulment occurs at 120 days, many at 40 days, and about 10% of Muslims believe ensoulment occurs at the time of conception (when the sperm hits the egg). This affects laws in Muslim countries about when and why an abortion can be performed, with more liberal laws the earlier the pregnancy.
Some (Bahrain, Turkey, Bosnia) have very liberal abortion laws allowing abortion up to the second trimester (4th-6th months inclusive) to spare the mother’s health mental or physical, in cases of rape or incest, for reasons of social hardship etc. Others are more restrictive, and the most restrictive allow abortion only to save the mother’s physical life.
Saudi allows abortion only under certain conditions and only to spare the mother’s life, or her physical or mental health. Abortion is not allowed in the case of rape or incest or social hardship.
If this woman had not sought treatment at a place where the staff were required to legally report her condition she would not have come to legal attention. At 8 weeks she was 60 days pregnant, and assuming she was raped, in many other Muslim countries she would have received the abortion or treatment for a “miscarriage” without the authorities being notified.
“This is one of the reasons why when push comes to shove I believe that men should have little to say about abortion rights.”
I’m sorry, that sounded harsher than intended.I meant only in situations where a man was trying to block a woman’s abortion, or men to abolish access to any abortion (eg in some Catholic dominated countries where the mother’s life is not spared) should men not have a say. Obviously in a loving relationship the decision should be a mutual one, and many men, including male obgyns have faught hard for a woman’s right to have an abortion in situations like physical or mental health problems, rape, incest, and social circumstances.
The Kingdom of Total Fuckups.
I join my voice to Chiara on this, though I dont think this case provides grounding for any abortion issue discussion. I think people are jumping to conclusions on a legal matter although the facts are deficient.
It is far from correct to make an analogy of this case to the unjust Qatif girl case where the rape was proven and many mitigating factors arouse.
Here, many questions present themselves, was there really a rape or was it just a case of illegal fornication? if she was raped, did she comeforward at the time of the assault? was the alleged rape ever investigated or the rapists ever looked for? why did she wait 8 weeks before coming forward? everyone knows there are MANY private abortion facilities, especially in Jeddah, why would she go to a gov hospital?
Not discussing the legitimacy of the legal rule in Saudi for all these matters, but everyone seems to be convinced that rape is a supported fact in this case, what if she is just a prostitute that forgot her morning-after pill, and then when caught she claimed rape?
Her only fault was that she accepted a free ride from a stranger & then she was awarded 1 year jail & 100 lashes !!!! is this our religion ?!!
The words of the Z Theory are wise.
It is impossible to offer views about a specific instance when the facts surrounding that specific instance are unknown.
One can certainly offer views about general patterns, of course.
Where is Mrs.Clinton and CNN this time ..Saudi Arabian Law System must never be left unwatched …It is OUTDATED and dangerous .
Even if the girl is guilty of fornication and she was not really raped. The judges in Saudi have no credibility after the Qatif case and after the sacking of the head of the judiciary. How are these jokers selected. Its a corrupt and dirty process and business in the kingdom it seems.
Actually in the absence of more detailed information about the case this is actually the perfect place for an abortion issue decision, and more.
The idea that the victim of a revolting CRIME is to be punished is just mind-blowingly wrong.
1. It’s absolutely wrong to associate rape with adultery – the idea that the woman is guilty of something (“she made me do it”) by mere fact of presence is repugnant.
2. Whether to abort or not should be the choice of 1 person only – the mother. The law needs to get out of the way and let a woman exercise some choice and control over her life. In the case of a rape – just imagine what a distorted relationship could exist between the mother and the child. Does the mother really need a constant reminder of the rape? Sure some mothers could overcome this trauma and have a healthy relationship with the child – much easier in a SUPPORTIVE society but a raped woman in KSA is a criminal. Never mind the idea of innocence of volition.
Because some fool and his 4 friends (if the article is accurate) can’t exercise a little self control – this woman’s life is destroyed. Disgusting.
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