The Camp Pendleton Cross » « The Night Before (The War On) Christmas

12 Years For Rape (um… that’s the victim)

Gulnaz was raped. There are none who deny;
The attacker was wed to her cousin.
The rape left her pregnant. That’s partially why
She’s been sentenced to jail, for a dozen.

An adulterous woman—or so say the courts—
Has few options by which to escape.
The best and the worst, by all recent reports,
Is to marry, to wipe out the rape.

The marriage, of course, would be to her attacker
Which Gulnaz is willing to do
What’s worse—though his family is willing to back her
Her own has a different view

Her rape has cast shame on the family name
And that cannot be changed, it is said
Yes, Gulnaz was raped; but she is to blame,
So her family, for shame, wants her dead.

The culture’s entrenched; it’s a matter of pride;
Protests will be to no avail
The damnedest thing—with her family outside,
Gulnaz may be safer in jail

Follow the link in the first line. I have no more to say. I want to, I just can’t.

The Camp Pendleton Cross » « The Night Before (The War On) Christmas

Comments

  1. Cuttlefish says

    Seriously… you’re a woman who wants your child to grow up *NOT IN JAIL*. What lengths would you go to? If it was your culture’s practice, would you marry the bottom-feeding scum that raped you? Hmmm…. How much do you love your child?

    I can’t put myself in her place. I just can’t. But when I try to put myself in her shoes, and look at her choices, I admire her tremendously. Gulnaz is taking one of the worst possible situations, and living through it. What an admirable person.

  2. SpriteSuzi says

    Okay, as if the story of Gulnaz and her daughter by itself is not enough of a travesty, keep reading the CNN story, and see this:

    But Gulnaz’s plight has found international attention because of a dispute between the European Union and a team of documentary makers hired to report on women’s rights in Afghanistan.

    The documentary makers filmed a lengthy report on Gulnaz and other women, showing her talking openly about her fate. They showed the film to the EU, who were paying for it as part of a project on female rights here. After viewing it, the EU decided to spike the project.

    The EU said it was concerned about the safety of the women in the film: they could be identified and might face reprisals. The filmmakers however suspect — citing an email leaked from the EU delegation — that the EU might also be motivated by its sensitive relationship with Afghan justice institutions, since he film shows the Afghan justice system in a very unflattering light.

    The leaked email says: “The delegation also has to consider its relations with [Afghan] Justice institutions in connection with the other work that it is doing in the sector.”

    Another time I am ashamed of the human race. The EU blocked a documentary on the HUNDREDS of women in this situation, because it might upset the Afgan Justice system? ARRGGHHHHHH!!!!!

  3. says

    I am not surprised. I also come from a culture where if you are raped, then you are either forced to marry the guy who raped you or, commit suicide to spare the shame on your family. Even in this current day and age I have heard guys joke that if you like a girl and she doesn’t like you, but you still want to marry her – just rape her. Life is never easy for a victim, doesnt matter where he / she lives. The plight for many victims in the US is not that much better either. We all have our own battle fronts.

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